A Strange Path To Walk
by TheGreatBard
Summary: A no powers AU where Max is shot in the bathroom instead of Chloe. They're reunited at last, but Max is a wreck afterwards, closing out the world except for her best friend. But Rachel Amber is still missing, and Chloe has her own problems. Can they save each other from their demons and survive the apocalypse? M for a good reason
1. Chapter 1

**_A Strange Path To Walk_**

A no powers AU where Max is shot in the bathroom instead of Chloe. They're reunited at last, but Max is a wreck afterwards, closing out the world except for her best friend. But Rachel Amber is still missing, and Chloe has her own problems. Can they save each other from their demons and survive the apocalypse?

Quick note: this is my first attempt at something like this, feedback is appreciated. I have no idea how long this will be at the moment. With how I usually write, it could be a long one or I might abandon it at some point. Sorry! I know how it feels to read something and then it just stops. It's unfair but if the creative impulse dies out, it dies out.

 **Rated M for dark themes, potentially including: really strong language, violence, sex, natural disasters, character death and mental health issues. Possibly more.**

 **I seriously have no intention or interest in pulling punches so to speak. If that or anything above bothers you, don't read it. Fair warning.**

Usual disclaimer: I don't own or claim to own anything from Life Is Strange.

 **Snap**!

Max smiled as she waved the developing picture in the air. Not her best shot ever, but it was beautiful nonetheless, a tiny blue butterfly on a bucket. Any opportunity for a picture was one she was willing to take, even in the back of a Blackwell bathroom. That's a photography student for you.

Coming here was a dream come true for her. She'd grown up in the town and always dreamed of going to the school, of learning photography and art. More photography really, but art was nice and shared a lot between the two. Blackwell Academy was elite, hosting only the most promising students and some of the most accomplished teachers and artists in the world. Compared to nearly any other school, Max would have chosen Blackwell out of hand.

It wasn't just the fact that her idol, Mr Jefferson, taught here, or that it basically paved the way to professional success. Blackwell felt special, like it had something to offer her. It wasn't perfect, not hardly, but she loved attending. Her classmates were cool, and super talented, even the stuck up Victoria.

She wasn't so bad when her posse wasn't around, but she was annoying if she thought someone else was watching. Dana and Juliet seemed to follow her every move, like ducklings behind a mother. Well, maybe not that extreme but they always seemed to be present when Victoria was.

Just as she was about to leave the bathroom, still thinking about Blackwell and her future there, the door flew open with a bang, hitting the wall hard. Startled, she ducked back, hiding in the space behind the last stall.

In strode a boy in a varsity jacket, blond hair slicked back and pale complexion even whiter than usual. He had a swagger like he owned the place, which he dropped when the door swung shut, sagging his shoulders and going to the sink to splash water on his face.

Why was _Nathan Prescott_ in the girls bathroom?

He was the richest kid in the school, in the whole town really, and a serious creep, Nathan had never struck her as someone who would hook up in the bathroom, men's or women's. He had a reputation in class as a bad boy, and more than a bit unstable, but barging into a women's bathroom wasn't an expected move.

"Come on, keep it together! Come on, come on! Aarrgh! I hate it! Hate it! Hate it, hate it! They think they're better than me! That's right! Right? I'm fine. No, no, this time is different. This time I'll show them!"

He ranted and raved, locking eyes with himself in the dingy mirror, hands wringing and flailing, clawing at his face. He had a manic look to him, everything amplified and terrible. Nathan's words took on less and less meaning, spittle flying out and lips curling back into a rictus smile.

Max barely dared to breathe. She'd never seen him like this before, or anyone like this really. He was drugged out, or having a mental break or something! She needed help, but she was stuck in the corner, afraid of what might happen if he knew she was there.

Peeking out, she weighed her options. She had her phone, she could call someone or text them. But there wasn't a guarantee they'd show up in time to help her. His movement was erratic, but he'd eventually cover most of the room. Screaming might bring someone to the bathroom, but then Nathan would definitely know she was there and there was no telling what would happen. Plus with all the noise in the hall, the sound might not be noticed. Nothing seemed like a good idea, so she sat, frozen like a deer in headlights.

She could only listen to his rant, flinching when he walked closer or kicked a door. By some miracle he hadn't heard or seen her, but it was just a matter of time. There was a fire alarm button on the wall, but it was protected by a glass case. Breaking it would draw attention for sure. He walked closer to her hiding spot, barely two feet away and closing. She shut her eyes, wishing she could turn invisible or something.

' _What I wouldn't give for someone to walk in and help me_!' Max thought ' _Anyone_!'

Just as the thought left her brain, the door to the hall opened, letting in the sound of students moving in the halls and the usual shouts and noise of school life. Too loud and short to call for help.

Nathan whirled around, turning to see who on earth would barge in on his meltdown.

It was a blue haired girl dressed like a punk, complete with military boots, dark and torn jeans, with a black jacket tossed over an edgy looking band shirt. A blue-black beanie completed the look, edgy and cool. She had a harsh look on her face, like she was annoyed at the world for existing. She seemed familiar to Max, something nagging at her brain, but it was lost as Nathan moved towards the now closed door.

She froze for a second, unsure of what was going on. A crazy looking guy in the women's restroom was probably as new an experience for her as it was for Max. Realizing he was coming for her, she backpedaled, cornering herself as she tried to open the door without turning her back.

"Who the fuck are you!?" He screamed at her "Do you know who I am!? Did they send you? Did He send you? Tell m—oof!"

The second he had gotten within arms reach and tried to grab her shoulders, the new girl had reacted, twisting his wrist into a martial arts lock and then expertly turning it into a throw. Nathan landed hard and slid on his back almost to Max's hiding place. The blue haired badass followed, standing nearly on top of the prone maniac.

Max blinked. It had all happened in a split second, an action movie takedown that nerds and geeks could only dream of! It was fluid and confident enough that she had no doubt the move had been used before, and had more training to back it up.

' _Wowser, whoever this chick is, I should get her autograph_!'

"I don't know what your problem is dude, but leave me the fuck out of it!" The mystery girl told him, voice shaking but firm. Leaning down, she looked him in the eye. "Freak. Why are you even in here? Get the fuck out before–"

"NO ONE calls me a freak!"

"Arrgh!"

Nathan had leaned up and grabbed her by the front of her jacket, one lapel in each hand, dragging her down to the ground, punching out a few times before rolling away.

They separated just next to Max, neither seeing her hiding in the shadows, Nathan pushing up and away, clawing at his shirt. The blue haired girl looked a bit stunned as she slowly sat back up. Her beanie was loose, almost falling from her hair, and allowed the darker roots to peek out. She glared at the boy, angry and ready to keep fighting.

Standing, Nathan pulled something from his varsity jacket. It was a dull colored pistol, ready to fire. Both girls gasped at the sight, instinctively leaning away from the weapon.

"Yeah, you know what this is! Now who's the boss? Huh bitch?"

"L-look man, just take it easy! Point that thing somewhere else! What do you even want? I don't know you!"

"LIAR! HE sent you didn't he!? I KNOW HE DID! TELL ME!"

"What are you saying dude!? Who?"

Her words set Nathan off again, like the flip of a switch. He was raving like before, waving a presumably loaded gun around like a toy, muzzle sweeping the room. The punk moved back against the wall, scooting on her butt to keep a distance between her and the maniac. She started to stand, reaching for something behind her back.

It was the wrong move. Nathan swung around, gun pointed and finger on the trigger. He shouted something about "him" and waved the gun aggressively. Max could see his finger tighten on the trigger, as if in slow motion.

"NO!"

She didn't even think, some unknown connection pulling her forwards, as she lunged for his arm. Stepping over the other girl, she could already tell she was too slow.

He saw her coming at the last second and twitched his aim her way, finger finally pulling the trigger.

 ** _Bam! Bam!_**

Max felt a tug at her stomach, something weirdly off about her body. She landed hard on top of the girl who she had moved to protect, while Nathan stood frozen and dropped his gun, eyes widening. He blood pounded in her ears as she was jostled by the other girl, who pulled her closer. She felt odd, like she was being disconnected from herself.

"Wha-? Wait Max!? MAX! Why are you here!? Oh god, oh shit, FUCK!" The punked out girl said, holding Max in her lap. If she had looked panicked before, now she was desperate and even more scared. "No, no, no! Not you! Please somebody! Help! Anybody!"

Nathan for his part stood as still as a statue, mouthing words that never made it out. He seemed to have snapped out of it, come back to reality. Too late to do anything but face the music.

Max couldn't tell how in the world this girl knew her. Sure she looked familiar, so close to someone Max had known in the past, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It was like trying to remember a dream, slipping away faster than she could remember.

 _'I know her. But from where? Never seen her around Blackwell before. But she's so familiar..'_

Max tried to move, to get a better look at the girl. It was all she could think about, suddenly, this mysterious badass. Who knew her that she didn't recognize? Probably a stupid question, but it bothered her. Why couldn't she remember? Was it someone from before she moved? It was only five years, how much could have changed? She reached up, to touch the tear stained face above her.

As she did, she realized she didn't have the strength, could barely lift her head. Her arms moved weakly, legs spasming and muscles clenching jerkily. Something was seriously wrong. The air was cold on her skin, sweat breaking out on her brow and body, cooling her even more.

Looking down, she saw red. One spot just starting to show on her shoulder, and another dead center of her stomach. Her eyes felt heavy, drooping and rolling, trying to focus as blackness slowly filled in from the sides. Max was fading, sinking slowly into a darkness she never knew before. It was terrifying.

She forced herself to look, one last time, as her eyes swam. If it was the last thing she did, she would see who held her so tightly. She knew this girl, but from where?

The door flew open yet again, distant to Max's ears. A mustached and intense man holding his own pistol came barging in, taking the scene in at a glance. He was the security guard for Blackwell, David.

"Chloe! What the-? Shit!" He said, lunging for Nathan as he spotted the gun.

'It can't be! It's impossible…but…'

"W-wait...Chloe...you're...Chlo-"

Her head flopped back, as David slammed Nathan to the ground, and help finally arrived.

 **Woo!**

 **That was fun to write! Sorry to basically rehash the whole opening scene, but hey, setup is setup. Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Apologies for the really strong language, but looking at the game dialogue, there's a LOT of cussing anyway.**

 **I'll be writing the next chapter after this, so keep an eye out. This is about the only scene taken almost directly from the game that I have planned. Probably.**

 _Other side note: This is quite literally the first story I ever posted online, though I'm writing for other sites and themes. None of the rest are finished and I have no idea if or when this one will update or complete. This story might be ok, I might have tried a little too hard or it might be trash, but that's all ok. It feels good to finally get it out there and post something at least._

 _if the formatting is off, I'll try to fix it. I'm posting from mobile and it's not the prettiest copy paste I've ever seen_


	2. Chapter 2

**Again, I do not own Life Is Strange**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and comments! I know the first chapter was not very long, I do apologize for making it solely about the first scene. I had meant to add this chapter immediately after, but I didn't have time to write it to my satisfaction.**

 **I for one happen to like using "Che" as a nickname for Chloe. It just seems right to me, like a cute pet name. Some people aren't fans apparently, but tough toenails, it's my fic.**

 **Depending on how busy I am this week, i want to have the third chapter out by sunday at the very latest. I don't think it'll take that long, but i like having a bit of time. I don't have** _ **all**_ **of the story planned yet, so i might take a break to plan it out. I don't want to keep you guys waiting, but you never know what'll happen.**

 _I've never had a panic attack myself, fortunately. I do know people who have had them, and ive been present for more than one. I tried to portray it as well as i could, not having first person experience with them. This chapter will have an extreme example of one, or at least that's what i would call it, be warned._

 _If you are prone to them, you might not want to read parts of this one. Just skip from the equals (=) signs i put to the next equals (=)_

 _It's rated_ _ **M**_ _for a reason!_

 **Chapter two**

 _ **The air felt heavy, like a lead vest, and burned when inhaled. The smoke of thousands of fires filled what little of the sky that could be seen, filtering the light into dark reds and black. The ground trembled, warning of more shocks to come. Splintered trees lay across the damaged pavement of the highway, blocking the way. The cliffs and hills had shifted, throwing the ground into waves and unexpected drops, boulders rising out of the town was sealed off.**_

" _Meteorologists around the state are baffled at the continuing escalation of bizarre weather in and around Arcadia Bay. With many reports in the past couple of days of animals acting strangely, snowfall in the middle of one of the warmest days this month, and sudden storms appearing out of nowhere, residents are worried. With heavy storms expected for friday and the weekend, things are looking to get worse before they get better._

 _Some say these recent happenings are a sign of global warming and climate change, while others say it's a natural and as yet undocumented phenomenon. Still more say that the odd weather is a sign of the apocalypse. The Governor has urged calm in the face of these uncertain times._

 _Whatever the case, we here at KBAY 7 will keep you posted"_

The television was the first thing Max was aware of, next to a gentle snoring from near her hip. She smiled without opening her eyes. She knew that sound all too well from years of sleepovers and accidental naps at the movies. Chloe was always there for her, awake or in her dreams. Even after had Max abandoned her.

She frowned at the thought. Max had never meant to leave her best friend, but it's not like she had much choice. Her parents were moving to Seattle for her dad's work, and they weren't about to leave their thirteen year old to get up to trouble. She had cried all the way to their new home, and for weeks afterwards. Nothing had ever hurt as much as abandoning Chloe just days after William had died. It was cruel.

And then, being the wonderful friend she was, hadn't called or even sent a letter for five years. Just left for half a decade with no word, in the worst period of Chloe's life. Five years was a long time, what kind of friend was she? Could she even call herself a friend at this point?

Max finally opened her eyes, not able to stand her own thoughts and hoping for a distraction. She got more than she'd bargained for.

She was in the hospital, that much was clear.

Monitors to her left and right showed various charts and numbers, each one beeping or wheezing softly. She knew the one that showed her heart rate, which was giving off most of the beeps, but the rest were a mystery. Her bed sat in the center of the room, a window giving some weak light through the curtains and illuminating a figure slumped against the edge of the mattress.

She frowned at the person waiting for her. A girl with blue hair and dark clothes, with a blue-black beanie? That didn't sound like anyone she knew, but she sounded just like Chloe when she snored. And the doctors wouldn't let a random stranger sleep in her room, right? She had to be someone close, or she'd snuck in at some point. But she seemed so familiar… Well, only one way to find out.

She tried to reach down to give the sleeper a poke, when a bolt of fire shot from her bellybutton to her shoulder and back. Grunting in shock at the pain, she fell back into her pillow, suddenly weaker than she could ever remember feeling before. She panted, out of breath from simply lifting her arm a few inches off the ground. The monitor next to her rose in pitch, the tone and pace of the beeps rising by the second as she started to panic.

' _What was that? How come I'm so weak? What happened?'_ She thought. The last she could remember she had escaped from a conversation with Mr Jefferson and went into the hall. But why was she in the hospital? She looked down at the center of the pain, now a dull throb. All she could see were the hospital sheets, but she could tell there was something there. Bandages?

She tried to move her arm again, to push the sheets aside, but slowly. Her arm protested, straining against something. Taking another look at her arm, she realized it was bound fast to her chest by a triangle of bandages. The limb looked like a mummy's and was locked tightly into position. Her movement drew another small gasp out of her as more pain lanced through her. Just what had happened? She felt a rising panic take ahold of her. She didn't know what was going on, and there was a stranger snoring on her bed, and _why couldn't she remember anything!?_

She must have moved more than she'd thought, or made enough noise, because the girl sat up quickly, bleary eyed but alert. Her blue eyes locked onto Max, narrowed from worry and confusion. They widened as the stranger figured out what she was looking at.

"Max! Ohmigod! You're awake! Shitsnacks, you had everyone scared!" she said, moving in for a hug, which sent pain down Max's shoulder and arm again. "I couldn't believe it was you jumping in front of me! Don't you _ever_ do that again Max!"

"Chloe...it's really you…I-I'm so sorry! I left you, right when you needed me! I didn't even call! Can you ever forgive me?" the words just spilled out of her as she tried to hug back, tears streaming down her face. It was beyond a doubt her friend. "It's my fault! I should have called, should have sent a letter! But i was scared that you would've moved on, or forgotten about me! Oh Chloe…"

"Why are you even worried about that, hippie? You got shot! You saved me!" Chloe practically shouted, looking at her in amazement.

The announcement jogged something in Max's memory, unblocked the fuzz of what happened. The bathroom, Nathan and Chloe fighting, how scared she was. And the gun. He had shot her, almost killed her, in that bathroom.

Memories flooded her mind, causing her vision to narrow, her breathing becoming ragged and faster. The world retreated again, red and black flashing across her vision and Chloe's voice growing further away.

She hadn't even thought about it before jumping at Nathan, getting between them. How stupid could she be? What could she have hoped to do? She wasn't a superhero, she wasn't a cop or anyone special! She didn't even know karate or anything! Why'd she do it!?

Her thoughts raced faster and faster, a panicked voice in her head repeating over and over that she had almost died, that she shouldn't be alive. The more she thought about it, the more she scared herself, trying to rationalize what she'd done. How close had she come? She remembered that darkness, that sense of losing herself, slowly sliding away. How scared she was at the time. How much it hurt to get shot.

Max wasn't aware of the world around her, didn't notice Chloe getting louder and louder, to the point that the nightshift nurse came to check on them.

She didn't register the arms around her, hugging her tightly or that the room filled with doctors and nurses as the alarm was sounded, or the heart monitor shrieking a constant tone. All she could think of was how close to death she had come, how fast it had happened. The world spun, her throat tightening. She gasped for breath as the people around her tried to talk her out of it, tried to bring her back to reality.

She could only feel a huge weight pressing down on her, forcing her to shrink and cower. It felt like a ton of bricks sitting on her chest, keeping her from drawing in air. She could only gasp, stars filling her field of view. She tried to raise her hands to ward off the onslaught of images that flashed before her eyes, of her own blood on her hands, of the gun and the noise, but all it brought was more pain from her injuries, reminding her of lying on the floor helplessly.

It was all too much, too fast and raw. She tried to get up, to move away from her own mind, but something held her fast, hands like iron pulling her arms and legs. They closed around her wrists, her head and legs. She pulled against them, weakly, but the pain from her stomach expanded, something tearing, and burning. Time seemed to crawl, every second feeling like an eternity and a blink of the eye at the same time, losing meaning in the flashing imagery and pain.

Finally she felt a lethargy take ahold of her, pulling her down and into darkness again. It wasn't the same as before, not as dark or empty, but it still drove her even more into her panic. She wouldn't go, wouldn't fall into the trap of letting go of herself! With everything she had she resisted, holding tight to consciousness.

But it was no use, the tug of sleep found it's way to her core, pulling her into darkness. She'd lost the fight.

* * *

Chloe sat in next to her friend, holding her hand as tightly as she could.

She'd never seen Max act like that, frozen and panting for breath, then thrashing and terrified, almost screaming in fear. They'd even restrained her with straps while they tried to figure out which medicine would help calm her down. She had ripped the stitches in her stomach, and they'd had to take her back to the operating room. The doctors said it was some sort of panic attack, brought on by the memories of what had happened. That it had overwhelmed her to see Chloe and find out how she'd been shot, that it sent her into shock again.

Chloe didn't know what to do. She was at fault here, jumping on Max as soon as she woke up, telling her what happened right off the bat! She'd almost lost her friend twice in as many days, and both of them were because of her. Fighting with Nathan had been stupid, she should have thrown him and left, just like that safety course her StepDouche had forced her to take had told her. Evade, Defend, Escape or some shit, right?

Fuck! If only Rachel was there! She would have know just what to say to Max, she would have been able to defuse Nathan like she always did for Frank. Hell, Chloe wouldn't have even gone into the bathroom in the first place if she hadn't been going to replace the posters. But then Max would have been stuck in there with the psycho anyway… She didn't like the thought that no matter what she had done, someone would have been hurt.

Max. Her friend for life. Why hadn't Max called her when she got back? Why hadn't she called Max herself, at any point in the five years they'd been apart? It's not like they didn't have the numbers, or a way to find out. But she'd been so mad at Max, at the world, that she refused to call, to even wish her friend happy birthday. Being separated hurt more than she'd thought, more than it should have.

Chloe was still mad at her though. Max left when she needed her the most, as her life had been turned upside down. Her dad died and Max might as well have died for all the contact that they'd had. A pit was forming in her stomach as she thought, muscles clenched tight around a ball of emotions she had thought long gone.

Getting Max back was great! She was so happy to have her friend back that she almost forgot about being abandoned. But there was a sour note to the happiness, a chord out of place. They had both almost died, for no reason. That asshole had nearly taken her friend from her again.

With a grunt, she stood up and stretched.

Max was supposed to be out for another day at least, according to the doctor that had knocked her out with a shot. She wasn't supposed to have woken up today in the first place, but stranger things had happened. Sitting around like a lump wasn't going to help, but Chloe would be damned if she wasn't there the second Max woke up. And this wasn't helping find her other missing friend.

With that thought, she turned away from her injured friend.

Heading to her truck, she groaned at the texts she had. About a dozen from David, who wanted her to come to the station and give a statement, a thousand from her mom. Her mom had been to the hospital earlier, but couldn't stay for long. A few more from people she knew, including one from Justin asking for an update. Climbing into the cab, she sent a few texts and pulled out of the parking lot, heading for the police station. No sense in tempting the law by not giving a statement.

The sun was just setting as she merged onto the highway, carefully moving between the few cars out and about. It was a good distance to the station, which was on the other side of town from the hospital. She spat out the window at a huge sign with "Pan Estates" on it. Another Prescott attempt to control the town.

Frustrated, Chloe was about to turn on the radio when she noticed that the sunlight was getting weaker. Glancing out the window almost made her crash the truck. The sun had a shadow on it, blocking nearly a quarter of its surface and growing as the seconds passed. Traffic stopped as more people noticed, halting her progress. Not that she minded, as she got out of her truck to gawp like all the rest of the people.

The shadow kept creeping across the star, a false sunset over the ocean. She had never seen anything like it.

' _No way did I just fail to hear about this. The town would have exploded if this was planned.'_ she thought ' _what the fuck is going on with this place? ...If only Max could see this.'_

She watched until the last of the eclipse had faded away. It wasn't until angry honking got her attention that she remembered she was blocking traffic. Flipping off the SUV behind the noise, she climbed back in and started on her way. Arriving at the station, she looked inside as the sun actually set.

Through the glass doors she could see the small police force of Arcadia Bay. Only two of the officers were inside at the moment, and their secretary. They were all dealing with a flood of people at the desk, some who looked like they were shouting at the cops. No doubt concerned citizens freaking out about the unexpected eclipse. What the hell were the cops supposed to do about that?

Snorting , she moved through the lobby, avoiding the crowd and catching the eye of Officer Berry.

He nodded in recognition and cut his conversation short to let her through the door leading to the back rooms. She knew the way from her trips to the station in the past, and the officers knew her well enough.

Hell, they knew her whole family at this point, they loved her mom at the Two Whales, and obviously David had applied to be an officer when he first came to Arcadia. They hadn't accepted him, but he kept up a relationship with them as head of security at BlackWell. That and getting Chloe out of trouble more than enough times.

' _Speak of the devil_ ' she thought

David was standing at one of the doors along the hallway, talking to a man in a suit. He was a tall man, with black hair, a mustache, and a soldier's intensity in everything he did, whether that was at his job or singing in the shower. David also pissed her the hell off.

"Chloe! ...are you alright? You look tired. ." He said, looking worried. "I thought you'd still be with your friend, after all that's happened. Hell of a thing."

She just stared at him, seething at how casually he talked about them almost dying. He wasn't even there when they needed him! How could he talk like it was just another day?

"'Hell of a thing'!? The fuck! You didn't stop this from happening! You didn't do shit to help her when she needed you! Fuck you David!" She spat. "You couldn't do squat when it mattered!"

He looked taken aback for a moment, before fire lit in his eyes. Like usual he rose to the bait, butting heads with her

"I know I failed Chloe. I'm sorry, I truly am. One man can't do everything by himself. But I think BlackWell will come around to my new security ideas after this. No one else will get hurt once it's implemented."

"You're going to use this as _justification_ for your damn surveillance!? You asshole! That's my friend and you don't even give enough of a shit to visit the girl you _failed_ in the hospital. You make me sick!"

He tried to say something else, but she was already storming away, too furious to care about what he had to say. He was like a Nazi, focused on total control. Anyone who got in the way was a threat. He just had to have everything in a neat row so he could better press his thumb down. Her mom liked to say that the war never ended for David, but it just sounded like he never wanted it to end.

She pushed toward the back door of the building, brushing past the few clerk and support staff the department employed. She knew the place well enough, from getting in trouble and when she had pestered them for weeks about finding Rachel. It was a huge square, with hallways crisscrossing it except for one corner with only one entrance and exit into the building. That was where the holding cells and interviewing rooms were.

She had almost made it to the final door when someone stepped in front of her holding a clipboard and coffee. Surprised, she pulled up short, still nearly bumping into him. He turned to look and smiled, genuinely glad to see her.

"Hey, Chloe. Rough couple of days huh?" Lieutenant Rossi asked, shaking his head. "I can't believe this shit happened in our town."

"...yeah, well that's life. I get my best friend back and she almost dies on me, my step-asshole is still fucking obsessed with locking down the school and the world is ending. So, yeah, rough couple of days."

"Ah, David is still dead set on his cameras huh? He needs to take a chill pill." He took a gulp of coffee and grimaced at the taste. "Great, cold. Want some? I have a pot on in the break room."

She thought about it for a second before nodding. Chloe liked Rossi more than most people. He was cool for a cop and had let things slide for her in the past. He looked like a stereotypical lawman even off duty, with another mustache and a fondness of coffee and doughnuts. It was hard to tell, but he might have actually been parodying a cop and gotten in too deep to quit. The thought made her smile.

He grinned back, then lead the way to the break room.

On the way, they passed the cell block and the security station monitoring the tiny rooms. Glancing at the bank of televisions, she tried to find Nathan out of morbid curiosity. She didn't know the creep that well, but she knew he who he was. Rachel knew him more than she did, but even so she had tried to steer clear of him. His reputation was of a drug dealing psycho out of control, which came true in the end, she guessed. Nathan really didn't connect with the rest of the world, even when he was the center of attention.

"Looking for him huh?" Rossi said, oddly perceptive. "Dude's not here, he went to County lockup. His dad probably pulled some strings with the Captain because he wasn't but halfway to the station before the order came down to send him up."

With a shrug and a frown she walked on, not entirely surprised. You'd need to live under a rock to miss how influential that family was. They owned everything in town, and most of the land beyond it as well. Nothing new came to Arcadia without Prescott approval.

"So. I take it you either gave a statement already, or more likely ran into David and decided to split before anyone could bother you."

"Dude, how the hell can you read my mind? Its creepy."

"Trade secret, but I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with 'security camera'."

"I think you're actually supposed to make up some terrible rhyme to go with that saying. And yeah, I did. What of it?"

He smiled again, eyes crinkling kindly. Rossi always put her at ease for some reason. He was the one who handled Rachel's case and he was still looking on his own time. He was a good guy. She didn't actually mind talking to him.

"Well, seeing as I'm a cop and I was going to take your statement anyway, I figured we might as well kick back and talk about what happened. If you want."

She didn't know what else she was going to do if she left. Maybe smoke alone or find something to break. But suddenly that didn't seem like a great plan. He was offering to make the whole thing easy and she had to talk at some point anyway/. Chloe was pretty sure it was only through her mom's interference that she'd had the time she already did. The cops were usually pretty insistent on due diligence and all that crap, and a day and a half was a big chunk of time.

"...ok. Let's talk."

Chloe was there when Max finally woke up, just like she planned.

It was luck really, she had forgotten her beanie and went to the room to find it. It was a gift from Rachel after all and well worth the trip to look for it. Once she was there the doctors told her Max was awake. They warned her to steer clear if she was asleep, but she rant to the room anyway and saw that Max had finally opened her eyes. She looked worn out, despite sleeping for nearly two days after her episode. Dark circles sat under her eyes like bruises, and she was weak to the point of having to talk in a whisper. Her arm was still basically tied to her shoulder, though the doctor had added a sling at some point.

Nonetheless, tears had been shed as they cried from finally seeing each other again. Max seemed unsure of herself. It was chalked up to the medicine, and to how tired she was, but she was reserved and more timid than usual, which was saying something. It set off alarms to Chloe, but there wasn't much she could do about it, other than being gentle. Eventually she came out of her shell again, having fun with her sister from another mister. Chloe was careful to avoid mentioning what happened before, just in case, and Max didn't seem to want to talk about it. They barely acknowledged that she was injured in fact. The shooting was one topic that Max shut down about, stalling the conversation for a solid ten minutes, until Chloe pulled her into a hug and told her not to worry about it.

"Super Max, I cannot believe you came all the way back to this crazy ass town just for some teacher! This whole time I've been trying to get out of here!"

"Well, it wasn't _just_ for Mr Jefferson. BlackWell is an elite school for the arts you know! Besides, you know it was always a dream of mine."

"Can't be too elite, they let my punk ass in."

"Don't be so hard on yourself Chloe, you're smarter than you think! Your mom was so proud of you when you came back with straight A's in middle school."

"That was like, the only time I ever managed that. C's get degrees sista!"

"You dork."

Max laughed softly. She was tired, but more than happy to talk to her friend until one or both of them dropped. The medicine they had her on made everything feel like it was floating, but other than that she was as sharp as ever. Or so she thought, it was hard to tell when you were under the influence. Max hated being out of it, she didn't even like taking cold medicine.

One thing hadn't escaped her notice though. She might not have seen Chloe for years, might not have been the best friend to her, but she knew when her bestie was worried about something. It wasn't that she was trying to hide whatever it was, but she was watching what she said, like she wanted to steer clear of something.

"Che… whats wrong? You're not telling me something."

"Uh, nope, nothing! Totally not avoiding anything."

Chloe couldn't lie to her, especially when her eyes darted to the side and she pressed her lips together. They always had to do the same song and dance, with Max slowly dragging whatever it was out of Chloe, who only dug her heels in more. She was so stubborn, but she couldn't resist for long when it came to Max.

"Come on Chloe…"

"It's good to have you back, nerd. This whole thing brought back some memories is all."

"About your dad? Chloe, I can't tell you enough how sorry I am that he's gone…"

"...yeah. Him and Rachel. I…" she sighed.

"Rachel? Rachel Amber you mean? She went missing a few weeks ago right? Did you know her?"

Chloe seemed to freeze. It was a long moment before she even drew breath, and it was a slow shaky one when she did. Max was about to say something else, to tell Chloe it was ok, when she saw the look on her friend's face. She was scared, terrified even. Whether it was from Max finding out, or something else, it was hard to tell. But her bold, reckless and unflappable friend was suddenly very vulnerable.

"It's complicated, ok? We were friends for like three years and then...more than that. It was great...until she disappeared. Just poof! Into thin air."

She hung her head, scared of looking at Max, as a sob escaped her lips.

"We looked for weeks, we even tried to call her parents. They didn't want anything to do with her, but they hadn't seen her for a couple of years anyway. The police were involved and everything. It's like she just came into my life, made it so much better when i was so lost, and then dumped me on my ass."

"Oh god, Chloe….I don't know what to say…."

Emotion filled both their voices, thickening their words.

"And now, I've got you back, for the first time in forever. But the second I do, you get hurt and you'll be leaving any day now...and _I can't take it again.."_

Her voice was small, broken. Chloe was shattering before her eyes, afraid of her best friend leaving again. Worse, this time she knew it might be forever, with Max being forced to go back to Seattle with her parents. They would never let her come back, and Chloe knew from bitter experience how hard it was to escape from their tiny hometown. It might be goodbye for good.

"Chloe, I won't let that happen. My parents aren't coming to get me, not any time soon. We couldn't reach them. They're supposed to be on a five month vacation right about now, they left at the same time I did...I'm here alone…"

"You are?"

Max nodded.

"I hate to say I'm glad, but...I am. Is that selfish of me? To wish your parents won't find out and take you home?"

"Che, I am home. Right here, with you."

With a sobbing laugh Chloe lunged forwards, wrapping her arms around her friend, careful of her injured shoulder. She didn't know what she'd have done if Max had actually had to leave again. She vowed to keep her friend close, no matter what. Hopefully they could both keep that promise this time.

Once Chloe had gone home for the night, shooed out by a nurse and Max telling her to go home and shower, Max was left mostly alone for the night.

Joyce stopped by after her shift ended, but the doctors said to keep their visit short since Chloe's visit had taken so much out of her. They caught up for a little bit, keeping the topics light and easy, Joyce somehow sensing that she was not up for another teary eyed reunion. That would probably come later though, once Max went home with the Price family.

Joyce had insisted, more like demanded, that Max was going to stay with them until she was better, or her parents came home. She said it was no problem, and it would be a joy to have her under the same roof again, and Max believed her. The only problem would be David, but Joyce waved her concerns away, promising she would take care of it.

All of her kindness couldn't shake the feeling that Max was alone in this. As she was left alone again, she felt a shiver go down her spine. Her parents weren't there to help her out of this one, their protective net pulled out from under her feet for the first time in her life. Right when she needed it.

The shiver kept coming back through the night, keeping her wake with lingering cold. She felt cold into her core, in her mind, as another darkness came over her, collecting in the edges of her mind. As the lights went out in the hospital, she shivered underneath her blankets, clutching her sheets tight with her one good arm. The room was shrinking, closing in on her again. It was less than before, not as panic inducing, but still pressing in and closing out the world.

Just as she was about to give way to panic at being alone and in the dark, a buzz sounded from her table. Reaching over, she grabbed her phone, which was flooded with messages from her classmates and teachers. Only one of them mattered to her though, the most recent one at the top of the list.

[Good night hippie. I'll see you tomorrow]

Max smiled, warming a little inside as the darkness took a step back. Not gone, or even a big step, but enough. She finally closed her eyes and fell asleep, restless and fitful, memories and visions flickering through her dreams.

 **Alright! That was a bit longer than last time!**

 **I have some more I wanted to add to this chapter, but i think it'll fit better in the third. It was actually really hard to write this chapter, i wanted to find the right balance between what's going on in the world and getting through Max waking up. I still feel like i slowed down the story and maybe wandered a bit, but i'll leave that up to you guys to tell me!**

 **Sorry if it seemed a little contrived with her parents being out of the picture, but i needed explain why Max's parents weren't swooping in like dive bombers. Them being on vacation is not the most imaginative excuse, but i didn't want them to be dead or to have kicked her out of the house or something. So out of contact on vacation somewhere in the world it is!**

 **So Max kinda took care of Chloe here, which is the reverse of what i had intended, but Max has other problems that are lurking. Fact of the matter is, Chloe is insecure and needed the reassurance, while Max already had a mental breakdown in this chapter. It wont be the last, PTSD is a hell of a thing, but two in one chapter is no beuno.**

 **That blurb at the beginning was fun huh? Ooohhh foreshadowing! Spooky! The end of the world approaches!**

 **Anyway, that's all I've got for now!**

 _I ordered Before the Storm today as well, I can barely wait for August!_


	3. Chapter 3

**I dont own Life Is Strange**

I was going to make this chapter a bit longer, but i thought it felt forced so its only about 3k words.

 **again, M is for a reason.**

 **Chapter 3**

 **The ground rolled beneath the wheels, splitting and cracking into uneven platforms that threatened to topple them. More trees came down, barely missing the bumper as the driver floored the gas, careening onto the highway. Cars filled the road, most of them immobile as the drivers pulled to the side or ran into the guard rails, fighting for control with the very earth itself. The truck wove in and out of gaps, splitting lanes and dodging unexpected hazards expertly. Stopping meant certain death.**

* * *

"Haha, king me! You suck at checkers Caulfield!" Chloe said, jumping three in a row to get another king.

"It's too hard! You never give me a chance to learn how to play like you do. Can't we go back to chess?"

"Dude, checkers is easy compared to that complicated ass game. There are like, two types of pieces and they all do the same thing."

The pair of them were trying to stave off boredom for what seemed like the thousandth time today. After nearly two weeks of Max not being allowed out of bed, and being too weak to try, they'd run out of things to do. Sitting through another movie got old after the fourth in a row, and daytime television was the worst thing since nails on a chalkboard.

Flowers and cards were all over the room, with balloons floating in the corner. Max had seen just about everyone in her school, including Victoria and her sycophants. Everyone had wished her well and told her to get better, but after the novelty had worn off most of her classmates stopped coming in.

Still, she had a few visitors a day, including Kate and Warren. They always cheered her up, and brought her homework. You could never quite escape doing school work, even being in the hospital. Joyce stopped by a few times, bringing food from the diner. It wasn't as good slightly cold, but still far better than hospital provided meals. Juliet and Dana had brought her some clothes to wear, a blessing in and of itself. Hospital gowns were not known for their decency.

With how quickly she grew tired it was all just as well. She could be fine for a few hours or most of a day, but then suddenly lose strength frighteningly quick. It was like a switch her body flipped a few times a day, one side awake and normal, and the other side exhausted and out of sorts.

The doctors had said it was because her body was repairing and replenishing itself, that it was normal. But coupled with the medicine to dull the pain, which had side effects ranging from amplified emotional states to extreme drowsiness, she felt far from normal during most days, and it only grew worse at night.

Nights were still rough for Max. The hospital stopped letting Chloe stay the night after the first few days, saying Max needed rest. Once visiting hours were over, she was left alone with her thoughts, something that scared her. Without a distraction her mind wandered back to her brush with death, something she desperately wanted to avoid. It kept her awake, actively trying to stop thinking about the worst moment of her life, and with her arm still immobilized, tossing and turning was less comfortable than ever.

Even when she fell asleep, her dreams were dark and cold, her rest interrupted and shallow. The dark circles under her eyes had only gotten darker, and she was more exhausted than ever. She felt out of sorts and freezing cold.

It was worsened by the fact that her camera was gone. No one had managed to find it, or the picture of the butterfly, since she had been shot. She felt naked without the instant film and her binder of pictures to document the world around her. Her friends had offered replacements, though no one had an instant film camera, but it just wasn't the same. Still, she had a few pictures on her phone and laptop of her stay, mostly with her visitors and Chloe. Nothing really happened when you were confined to a room resting for multiple days in a row.

The only thing that warmed her up was when her best friend came to visit between shifts at work or on her days off. Once she saw a text or got a call from the blue badass it was like a shroud had been lifted. Her day brightened a little every time and she would stop shaking. It reminded her that she wasn't alone in this, that she wasn't going to be _left_ alone.

Chloe continued to sweep the board of Max's pieces, until only a few stubborn holdouts remained. They were soon crushed by Chloe's army of red, which then rounded up their defeated opponents and sentenced them to execution while Max rolled her eyes. She was a gracious winner when they played chess at least.

The debate over chess and checkers was a long standing one, stemming from when they were kids. Chloe dominated at checkers, moving the colored disks with ruthless efficiency, while Max practiced the "show your belly and beg for mercy" school of tactics. Chess was more her style, and she could usually net a few wins before her partner inevitably quit. Not that Chloe was as terrible at chess as Max was at checkers, but her attention span and impulsive nature held her back from using strategy to her advantage.

"So what now? We've played every game in my house, borrowed the ones from the hospital at least once each and a movie is just going to bore the fuck out of us again." Chloe asked, looking at the wasteland of discarded games, a pile of movies and assorted snack wrappers. It was kind of scary how much they'd played just today, let alone the rest of the time they had here.

"I don't know. I guess we could try monopoly again."

"Yeah, no. Not if we want to see each other tomorrow. It destroys friendships, that game."

They'd learned the hard way that with only two people and no mediator things could get ugly fast. One round of the game and both of them had been so angry it took Kate telling Max off and two days for them to cool off enough to hug it out.

A gentle buzz from the table let Max know she had a text. And then another, and another, until her phone had buzzed at least a dozen times. Mystified, she grabbed it to look. A list of messages filled the screen, seemingly from most of her contacts. They all said different variations of the same thing, telling her to check the news. There was even one from Joyce asking if they were watching.

She clicked on the latest message, hoping to find an answer.

[ **Warren** ] _yo Max! Turn on the news! It's crazy!_

[ **Max** ] _Warren what's going on? I have a thousand messages telling me the same thing. What's on the news?_

[ **Warren** ] _You remember that eclipse I was telling you about the other day? The one no one saw coming?_

[ **Max** ] _I remember you and Chloe talking about it, sure_

[ **Warren** ] _it's about that!_

[ **Warren** ] _You gotta turn on the news! This is BIG Max! Big!_

Looking around, she tried to find the remote in the various cards and stacks of games. It made sense that it would be were she put it last, but like all remotes it was a master of stealth, and it took them both nearly five minutes to find it under Chloe's discarded boot.

"Did he tell you what channel?" Chloe said, changing the receiver back from the DVD player.

"He just said 'the news' so I assume the local station."

"Hope we didn't miss it, whatever it is."

They hadn't judging by the huge banner scrolling across the screen and the chatter of the anchor.

" _ **Rogue planet cause of mysterious eclipse over Oregon. "**_

The blue and grey banner proclaimed, scrolling past just slower than a comfortable reading speed. Other blurbs found their way past on a second, smaller, banner at the bottom. A press conference was being held on the screen, the audio muted as the anchor recapped whatever big announcement had everyone so excited. A seal sat behind a row of men and women in lab coats and suits, blue and white, with a rocket and stars. The outside ring had National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA in bold lettering.

" _NASA has confirmed today, along with half a dozen other space agencies including China, Russia, India and the European Space Agency, that the cause of the surprise eclipse that treated the western coast of North America was a previously unknown planet inside our solar system._

 _The newly named 'Bastrieter' is close to twice the size of the earth. Approaching from the far side of the moon, it's orbit kept it hidden until it passed in front of the sun. Astronomers are saying this is a once in a billion year event._

 _Shockingly it was not detected before the eclipse, something that is unnervingly common in astronomy, even for objects of such a huge size. Scientists had not thought rogue planets were much larger than mars, or at the most close to earth sized._

 _The traveling planet may also have affected our weather NASA reports, citing high tides and the strange storms and weather seen throughout the world. A change in the gravity around Earth could have far reaching consequences we might not yet understand, but a mass twice the size of earth would be more than enough to cause immediate concerns._

 _Leading scientists calculated the likely orbit of Bastrieter and think we will see it again in a few days as it finishes its slingshot around our sun and back into deep space. The planet will peak in early November and dwindle in size as it passes._

 _Here to tell us more about it is senior…"_

Chloe tapped the mute button as they segued away from the summary of the conference.

"Damn I wish I had seen that eclipse now. The one time in a billion years and I'm asleep."

"It's not your fault Max. Plus we get to see it again, you heard em. It coming back! We'll watch it together!"

"They probably won't let me out of the room, even to see this."

"Bah! We can find a way!"

Max wasn't so sure, but she smiled anyway. Chloe always seemed to find a way to drag her into things, but she was more than willing to go along with this one. It was just a pity her camera was gone, she would've loved to take a picture wherever they ended up after.

They schemed and planned for the rest of the afternoon, coming up with elaborate plans to escape the hospital. Unfortunately Max couldn't walk very far, even getting to the bathroom attached to her room left her panting, so most of the ones that involved fighting past the guards weren't going to work. Eventually they settled on a plan and spent time watching videos on astronomy and planets.

Max finally replied to the messages on her phone, which basically amounted to being roped into a group chat about a Vortex Club party by Dana. She just turned off the notifications for that particular conversation, she wouldn't go to it even if she could. Warren was hyper excited about the entire thing and quickly lost her with technical terms and theories.

The late afternoon sun turned the room orange as a knock on the door grabbed their attention. Chloe turned from the car magazine she'd brought and opened the door with her foot. Lazy Chloe was lazy.

Max's head doctor was at the door smiling at them. She was the doctor in charge of the team that had saved her life and had then taken charge of her care while she in the hospital. A tall blonde woman, she seemed to be ageless, despite having told the girls that she was well over fifty, and pulled off the white lab coat and heels she wore like a woman half her age. She spoke with a noticeable German accent, though they had yet to hear so much as a word of German from the woman.

Dr. Ziegler genuinely cared about her well being and Max wouldn't have traded her for anything. Her presence always calmed Max whenever she felt herself slipping and she was beyond understanding when it came to her reluctance to speak about the incident. That's said, she took no shit, as Chloe had inevitably found out.

"Hello girls! How are you today?" She said brightly

"You know us, just hella bored. Ready to bust outta this popsicle stand." Chloe told her. "How much longer does Max have to stay anyway?"

"Well, that's what I'm here to find out. If you're ready Max, I'd like to perform some tests and if everything goes to plan you could be out by tomorrow afternoon."

"That would be great. Thank you Doctor Ziegler."

As Chloe watched, ready to catch Max if she fell, the doctor had her run through some exercises to see how she was healing. She stood on one leg, then the other, raised her injured arm as high as she could, walked back and forth across the room and more. She was panting before they were halfway through, which made her think she would be there even longer. She could barely bend at the waist, much less dress herself or get up off the floor, how could she expect to be released tomorrow?

But Doctor Ziegler seemed happy with her progress, telling them both that even though Max was weak, just the fact that she could do most of the tests without passing out or being in too much pain meant she was healing nicely. It would be a few months until her arm healed enough to be out of a sling, but she could wiggle it a bit.

Finally they were done with everything and Max collapsed onto her bed with a sigh. She'd never been so tired in her life. This sucked, but at least she wasn't in too much pain thanks to the meds.

"You did well Max. I think you'll be ready to go tomorrow. I have to warn you though, you need to take it easy. Accidents from pushing yourself can happen, and you need to recognize the risk."

"Yes ma'am. I just want to get out of here, no way am I putting that at risk."

"That's the attitude I like to hear. Now...there is something we need to talk about… I have held this off for you since you have arrived Max, and I do not know if it was the right choice." She took a deep breath, frowning. "I am aware of your reluctance to speak about what has happened. You do not sleep well, you barely eat your meals, you have panic attacks and episodes. I know it scares you, but you shut out the world to pretend it does not bother you. Like now."

Max stared at her, barely seeing the doctor. Her ears rang, and she focused on the wall ahead of her. No way did she want to talk. It wasn't going to happen.

The police had already come and gotten her statement, and had been thoroughly stonewalled. She had given them the barest details and sent them away, then cried for an hour as panic and anxiety caught up with her.

Now the doctor she trusted the most was bringing it up? It was too much, too direct. Her brain shut off, blocking out the words. Max knew something was wrong with her. Normal people didn't have a panic attack when the door closed too hard, or have to stop watching movies when guns were brought outer flinch when she heard shouting.

One night there had been a thunderstorm and she'd fallen out of bed when it woke her up. she was so scared that when one of the nurses found her, she had punched him in the head. He was very understanding about it, but she felt so ashamed. Just one more thing she had to avoid thinking about.

"This is understandable. Trauma can be hard to deal with, and you have friends and family who support you. It might be too soon to speak, but I want your promise you will in time, yes? Bottling it up will only harm you more."

She touched Max softly on the shoulder as she spoke, trying to get a response. Max didn't look, didn't react, to the gesture. Now more than ever she just wanted to disappear. She wanted the Doctor to disappear too, but knew she was being unfair. She was doing her job, Max didn't blame her for that.

Chloe obviously didn't feel the same way.

"Hey! She doesn't want to talk about it, how about you don't make her!? What gives you the right to force her to promise that?" She told the older woman

"I understand more than you know Ms Price. Your friend has been through a terrible thing, as have you, and she may need more help than just what friends and family can provide. Please, don't let it be too late before she gets help. She needs you more than you know."

She drew in a breath and walked quickly from the room, frowning. As a veteran herself, she knew how tough it could be to survive.

Max didn't notice the departure, still barely breathing while hugging her knees to her chest. Her mind was full, but she wasn't thinking of anything, like a whirlwind was giving and taking her thoughts around and around before she could get them straight. She shivered, cold creeping into her bones despite the warm room.

Chloe stared after the doctor, fuming. She didn't quite know why she was so angry, but anyone who hurt Max would face her wrath. It had always been like that, the two of them against the world, but now especially she was determined to protect her best friend.

"Max, you don't have to talk about anything you don't want to. But I'm always here ok? For anything. You hear me?"

When she didn't get a response, she reached over to Max, pulling her close and hugging the traumatized girl. She was cold, empty and somewhere else, like a marble sculpture in the snow.

They didn't move for what seemed like an eternity, staying as still as stone until Chloe thought she might actually need to call the doctor back. Finally Max snapped out of her episode, leaning into her first mate and hugging her back. She still shivered a little and looked pale, but she had herself under control again.

"...I hear you Che."

They stayed together until the sun set, Max sleeping deeply for the first time in what felt like a lifetime.

* * *

 **Alright, so I'm late in getting this out. Sorry! I was distracted by rick and morty, work and a busy weekend! plus , you know, my other hobbies and such.***

 **I probably won't promise when I'm going to update again. I write either incredibly fast, or at least a lot, one day and slowly the next, so consistency is something to work on I guess.**

 **Let me know if I'm doing s good job! I love to hear reviews and comments, even the negative. I'm doing my best, but this is still one of the first writing projects I've done, and my first that I release in chapter form. I don't believe I'm doing poorly by any means, but I know it's not the best.**

 **Thanks for give me a chance!**

 _Side note: planets don't actually move fast enough to cause an eclipse one day and the next month be seen as a second moon after wrapping around the sun. It would be an incredible coincidence that the time frame and orbits matched that nicely. I know this, but for the sake of the story, space time has to be bent._

 _ **I was considering doing the whole romance thing between the two of them, but i dont think i will. Not only do i not know how to write a romance, but i dont think i can do it well enough to have it actually add to the story instead of taking away from the focus. We'll see though, so just dont be blindsided by potential romantic scenes.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I do not own life is strange, at all.**_

 **I won't give a timeframe for when the next chapter will be posted, but im not planning on giving up on this fic. Classes are starting so i have less time to work on what i want.**

 **Chapter 4.**

* * *

 **The passage through the cloud of rocks was not a gentle one. Stone cracked stone and ignited, turning liquid in the heat from the intense friction and boiling off into the void. Dust swirled as massive rocks turned to powder.**

 **Forcing its way through, the planet cast aside all comers, making itself known through its sheer size and gravity, tugging a carefully balanced system into disarray.**

* * *

Returning to the Price residence was like coming back to her own home. So many memories, familiar smells and sights, all of it like stepping back in time to when they were kids. It made her want to bounce with joy to be home again, after so long away. With William gone it was more than a little bittersweet, but even with the five years she'd been gone it still felt like he could walk around the corner at any second.

Max could tell some things were different now though. A different table, new curtains and carpet in the living room. She could tell they'd changed their detergent at some point, and David's influence was present, from his coat and hat, to the smell of his cologne.

The doctors had said she shouldn't go up and down too many sets of steps, since she was so weak she might fall if she tried on her own, but there wasn't a lot of choice on where to stay. The house only had two bedrooms and one bathroom, all upstairs, so she was staying with Chloe. She felt a little bad for forcing her friend out of her own bed, but Chloe had simply pointed to a nest of blankets and pillows on top of a massive and comfortable looking recliner in the corner of the room. It looked wildly out of place, but suited Chloe, like a mob boss in their wingbacked chair.

"That beast is so comfortable i sleep there half the time anyway! You're fine SuperMax."

The only problem with staying at the Price household was getting to class, which had already started back while she was in the hospital. Being a tight knit and small college, the administration had called off classes after the incident, but after a few days had to resume them. She should supposedly get her strength back enough to take care of herself in another week or two, but until then she had to hitch a ride with either Chloe or take the bus, which meant she needed help getting on and off.

Luckily, she had been released on a Friday, the day after Halloween, so classes wouldn't start for another two days. She hated that she'd missed the holiday, but Chloe had managed to grab enough candy for the both of them.

Monday was her light day too, since she hated the first day of the week. Class was only at 12 and 1, then she was free for the rest of the day. But until then, she had two days to actually relax and get some much needed sleep.

Unlike the hospital, which kept her awake with noises and alarms throughout the night, not to mention being alone most of the time, Chloe's room felt safe. She didn't have a knot of anxiety in her chest when she was alone or trying to sleep. The gentle light filtering through the flag hung across the window, the scent of strawberries and a hint of coffee all mixed with how _familiar_ the room was to her. It put Max at ease, enough that she could almost, _almost_ , bear to think of what she'd done.

Being there was like being in her own home after a long time away. Joyce took care of her almost as gently as Chloe, making sure she could get up the stairs alright and helping her when she needed it. David was standoffish at first, but was nice enough once she got to know him. He was complicated to understand, very forceful in how he acted, but gentle towards Joyce. It didn't help that Chloe refused to talk to him, still angry that he hadn't prevented Nathan from hurting her friend.

The weekend passed uneventfully, with Chloe calling out of her job on Sunday so Max wouldn't be left alone for hours. She didn't want to, missing hours meant less cash to pay for her truck and insurance. It shocked Max to hear that Chloe was that independent, paying her own insurance and for her truck, plus saving for a move down south to San Francisco. still most of it was going towards paying for her court fees and various fines. It wasn't what she expected of the punk rocker.

"Well, when your dad's best friend shows up to court on your behalf and offers to straighten you out, it sounds a lot better than prison. Lucky I was under eighteen or I'd be on the inside still."

"Your dad's best friend? Who's that?"

"Guy named Thom, works by the docks in the harbor doing engine repair and other shit. He's an old fuck, but he knows his stuff. Taught me to weld and gave me an apprenticeship at the shop. Bailed me out more than once."

"Wow, he sounds like he cares Chloe. How come we'd never met him before?"

Max couldn't ever remember meeting one of William's friends, though their parents were close so her dad might count.

"We did, when we were really little. But he wasn't here until Dad died. Took over his business, like the will said, expanded it to cover cars and machine work."

"That's good though isn't it? The more you learn about cars the more places you can take those skills to. Every place needs a good mechanic!"

"Yeah well, you take felony charges with you too Max. I'll be luck to rent a shack much less find a decent job."

Felony charges? What had she done to get one of those? It wasn't like the Chloe she knew, not the happy, smart blonde with a quick wit. Even the Chloe that she had met now, a troublemaker, stubborn and sarcastic to a fault, didn't strike her as the kind to get into enough trouble for a felony.

"Felony? Chloe…"

"Look, it was a long time ago, after you left. I fell in with a bad crowd, they pressured me to do some shit. It's not important. I have to get to work." She snapped.

"Wait, Chloe!"

With that abrupt ending she stood and left the house, leaving Max alone with her thoughts. The room felt a little less secure than before, the light a bit grey. She heard the truck door slam and Chloe drive away, angry but as careful as ever.

Where had that come from? Obviously being charged with something wasn't the best experience to have, but Max didn't expect it to bother her friend that much. She had said outright that she'd been in trouble before, just not how much exactly. She shivered a little, wondering why things had blown up so fast.

Maybe it was really bad? Like murder? No, she wouldn't have been able to get out of that one… Max pondered the question as she made her way slowly down the steps, pausing halfway to catch her breath. Five years meant she'd missed a lot, and it seemed that Chloe had done some things she wasn't happy about.

Finally down the steps, she was just in time to meet Joyce as she walked in the door. She looked a little surprised to see Max without anyone home.

"Max! Where's Chloe? She said she'd be here all day! She even called out of work!"

"Don't worry! I wasn't alone long and nothing happened….I barely made it downstairs before you got here."

"If you say so hon. Why'd she leave? It's not like her to leave her friend high and dry."

"W-well, we kinda had a fight, and she left all pissed off. Said she was going to work."

"What about? Don't tell me...it was something she'd rather avoid than talk about right?"

Max nodded, slightly surprised. Joyce knew her daughter so well, even when they didn't talk all that much. Chloe had said she just as often ignored her mom as she did pick a fight, which didn't leave much room for bonding.

"I think so…it was about her getting in trouble, and she said something about a felony and William's friend giving her a job instead of going to jail. I don't understand why she was so mad. She's so different now, and that's not a bad thing, but I don't know how to read her and…"

the words rushed out of her, faster than she wanted. Max was more than a little panicked, the one person who she really felt safe with, her oldest and best friend, was angry at her for reasons she had no idea about.

"Well, it's not my place to tell you what she did, but I bet you she didn't tell you about the parole or who she was with when it all happened?" Max shook her head. "Mmh. She's made mistakes, and she's going to pay for them for a long time. But it's done with, and Chloe's on a better path."

Max was disappointed but not really surprised. Joyce respected their privacy even when they were kids, and only stepped in when they were making really dumb decisions or if she really had to. It was one of the things she loved about her other mother.

"So how do I fix it? If she won't tell me and you can't, what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, I figure you can't. Not right away, but she'll come around. She needs you too, you know. Five years and William's death took a lot out of her. Her friends weren't the best kind of people once you were gone, having a genuine friend now is important. Now come on, let's get everything ready for dinner, we'll make her favorite and cheer her up!"

Max smiled a bit as they washed up, but she still felt like she'd been kicked in the gut. She'd felt off since the day she'd woken up, worried and anxious over what would be nothing before. Chloe had really scared her by storming off. It wasn't something she was prepared to deal with on top of her own issues.

But Joyce was right. She'd come around.

* * *

"Up and at em sleepyhead! I gots to get to work, and you need to get ready for class!"

Max groaned and rolled to the side, not ready to begin the day. The pillows propping up her injured shoulder kept her from moving too far, but it was the act of protest that counted, right?

A pillow sailed into her hard, pushing her shoulder and making her roll further. Pain shot from her elbow to her neck, a sudden fire that left her breathless and writhing. A gasp escaped her lips, alerting Chloe.

"Shit! I didn't mean to throw it that hard, I swear! Damn, you alright Max?"

Grimacing she sat up, holding her shoulder as still as she could. The pain receded slowly, burning itself out as she hugged her arm close, knees trying to rise to her chest, but falling short as her injured abdomen protested. Not how she wanted to wake up in the morning.

"It's ok Che, I just forgot for a sec. Let me catch my breath."

Chloe looked worried, and guilty, and hovered around the edge of the bed, blue eyes framed with worry. It killed Max to see her upset about such a stupid thing. It wasn't her fault Max was clumsy in the best of times.

"Go get ready, I'm going to take my meds and get dressed. Really, it's ok." She assured.

"Alright, call me if you need help."

Searching for a second, Max found the bottle of water on the desk and her pills. They were large and kind of intimidating, the kind you heard stories about from people getting addicted. But she needed them. The pain in her stomach and arm would just get worse as the day went on, leaving her constantly in pain.

Now what to wear? Lately Max had been wearing loose shirts and sweatpants, since they were relatively easy to get into, but the super casual look was not really school appropriate. She didn't want anyone to worry more than they already were, so the closer to normal she dressed the better. Which wasn't going to be easy, as bending her waist or raising her arm hurt even with the medicine.

She settled on an old favorite, jeans and a black shirt with a puppy on it. The puppy had a bandaid on his head and said "ow" in a tiny bubble. Irony would rule the day. Her hoodie wasn't in the room, or at least not in sight, so she would do without. It would've caught on the sling anyway.

She slipped on her shoes and started for the door, when it opened ahead of her. Chloe entered, toast in her mouth and stopped short. Swallowing a massive bite, she freed her mouth just long enough to speak.

"You almost look like yourself today Maxie. Where's the coat though? It's cold as balls out."

It was true, the window had a bit of frost on it and the house was struggling to keep warm. Winter was on its way, time slipping by as the month wound down into November.

"I don't think we got one when we stopped by my dorm. No one really expected me to be outside I guess. I'll be fine though, I can get one when I'm on campus."

"Nah, I got one. Here, it might be hella big though, you're such a munchkin."

"Am not! You're just a giant dork is all."

"Heh, whatever you say Caulfield."

Chloe grabbed what she thought at first was just a flannel shirt in red and black but turned out to be a heavy jacket with flannel on the outside and wool on the inside, like you'd see on a farmer or worker in winter. It was about as weighty as denim but much warmer.

"Too heavy? I have another one, but it's probably not enough for the morning. It'll warm up around mid afternoon though."

"It's perfect Chloe. Thanks."

It really was too. Once she'd slipped it over her shoulders, left arm in the sleeve and the injured one covered but not really on, and zipped it up a bit to hold it, the jacket had felt like a safety blanket, one of the weighted ones they'd had at the hospital. She felt wrapped up and secure.

With that settled, the two of them made their way downstairs, nibbling on toast as Chloe lent an arm to gently half-carry her down the steps. David was in the hall and nodded to them as he passed. He looked tired from the night shift and walked zombie like to bed.

They left as the morning traffic began to pick up, which for a small town like Arcadia was barely above average for the highway. A lot of people drove through on their way north or south, few nothing to detour to the admittedly picturesque town.

Chloe was as careful as any driver Max had ever ridden with, and more skillful. She slipped past trucks and other cars with ease, moving faster than the flow of traffic would seemingly allow. It felt like nothing was in their way, even in the rush hour traffic, and despite how fast they were moving Max never thought they were in any danger.

Chloe had learned to drive from a friend of Thom it seemed, a stuntman who visited every few months. She had been terrified of learning to drive after her dad's death at the wheel, to the point where she'd refused to consider getting her license until her new boss and parole officer had forced her to. Well, they hadn't forced her to, but they'd made it clear it wasn't acceptable to not have one.

After the smooth ride BlackWell was a sudden and unwelcome sight. Max definitely didn't want to come back so soon, but a full scholarship hung in the balance, and missing any more days would put that at risk. Despite the heater in the truck she felt cold, like all the warmth in her body was going out through her feet and just left her a shell. Her breathing picked up a notch, fast and deep but not calming in the slightest.

Chloe noticed her start to frown, reaching over to grab her hand.

"It's ok Max. It's just a school."

Sure, just a school. Then why was there ice cold sweat breaking out all over her body? Why did she feel like this was the end of the world? She'd walked the halls about a thousand times, this shouldn't be any harder than before.

But it was. Something terrible had happened to her here, something she did her best to never think about. As they pulled into the parking lot, the only thing keeping her from running away was Chloe, who was still holding her hand.

Instead of going to a space, Chloe pulled up to the curb in front of the steps. She turned off the truck and sent a message on her phone, then turned to Max.

"Hey."

"...Hey…"

"Look...I know this all sucks and it's hella hard to come back here, but you gotta alright? I might be stuck here for the rest of time, but you're not ok? Blackwell is your dream...ok?"

"I'm fine Chloe. Thank you for worrying but I'm really fine."

"...I can tell you aren't. You're lowkey freaking out just sitting here. You don't have to say anything to me, but maybe that doctor was right, you need to talk to _someone_."

Max didn't have anything to say to that. It wasn't normal, what was happening to her. But she didn't want to talk, to think about it. So she just sat, awkwardly trying not to look at Chloe or the school and just staring at her hands.

"Finally they get here."

Surprised, Max glanced out the window to see a small group walking towards them. Kate, Warren, and Juliet were there, waiting for her to get out of the truck.

"I called them so you didn't have to wait for class alone, since I have to get to work. Sorry to drag you out of bed so early."

"Thanks Che, I don't know what I would have done with myself if I had to wait alone."

With a quick hug, she and Chloe parted ways. The air felt cool as she opened the door and waved a last goodbye, jacket taking the brunt of the chill. She turned just in time to have Juliet wrap her carefully in a hug. She returned it as best she could with one good arm.

"It's good to see you Max. You scared us."

Kate and Warren stood to the side, waiting their turn at a hug. Something was different between them, but Max didn't quite know what it was.

"How are you Max? I prayed for you the whole time."

"Thanks Kate. I'm ok, I can finally sleep now that I'm in an actual bed."

Warren looked like he wanted to say something, but he was unusually quiet. He glanced at Kate and then back to Max, mouth open.

"It's ok Warren, you can talk to other girls."

"...right, right. How's things Max? I hope you're ready for the second coming party!"

"The second coming? I thought Kate would be the one to talk about that… no offense Kate."

"None taken Max. What he's trying to say is the school is throwing a party to watch the planet come back around. It's on the 14th."

"Yeah! And there's going to be telescopes on the roof of the dorms, Ms Grant is letting me help operate them! You'll be there, right Max?"

"I kinda forgot about the whole planet thing. I'll try to, if I feel up to it. What was that about other girls?"

The three of them exchanged looks and then Juliet squealed in excitement. Warren and Kate looked sheepish and flushed respectively.

"Oh my dog, you're together! You guys make the _cutest_ couple! Congratulations!"

"I know! They're, like, the number one couple at BlackWell! Aw, look at them blush!"

She and Juliet kept fawning over them as the group walked into the building. Max hardly noticed, she was so happy to be with her friends. It actually felt like she was _back_. During their walk to the dorms, she just enjoyed the time with people who wanted the best for her.

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly, with her friends slowly rotating out as their classes started. Kate was the only one who shared Max's schedule so they stayed in her room for the most part. She showed off her illustrations and ideas for her kids book. They were bright and appealing, a mixture of simple themes and happy colors.

Finally the two of them had to leave for class, leaving early so that Max wouldn't tire herself out by needing to rush. Students saw them coming and nodded or offered well wishes to her as they passed. It was an odd feeling, being recognized as opposed to being mostly in the background.

She convinced Kate to go through the stairwell door, claiming she wanted to avoid the chaos of the main hall. Getting bumped around was probably not a good idea on her first day back.

In reality it was bad enough that her classes were in the same building as where she was shot, but they were on the same hall. She wasn't ready to face the bathroom again, not so soon. At three weeks after the fact, the reality of the situation was still sinking in but felt more real than ever. It haunted her as she walked to class, the thought that she had almost died barely a hundred feet from her lecture on quadratics.

Max couldn't think, couldn't focus on school or her photos. She'd gotten a loaner from Mr Jefferson, a tiny digital camera that she didn't like. It was nothing like her instant film and she had to have all of the pictures online, or printed in the library. Victoria was mercifully silent for the day, other than one moment where she seemed to genuinely welcome Max back to class.

The thankfully short day seemed to drag on and on, fraying her nerves the longer she thought it lasted. She knew it wasn't half as long as it felt, but between trying her best to pay attention and keep her mind out of those darker places, her entire day felt timeless. She did manage to focus enough to remember her homework, which she finished as she waited for Chloe to pick her up.

The rest of the week was much the same, a long series of hitching a ride to school with either David or Chloe, and one day of taking the bus. Chloe's step dad was nice enough, but he was so forceful and opinionated about things that it was difficult to like him. The car rides with him just as often ended with a lecture on some topic of security or "how it used to be" as it did with the radio and quiet.

Her stomach did begin feeling better by the end of the week, something for which she was grateful. Nothing sucked more than having to be helped to sit up from bed or to basically lay down and worm into pants. It still hurt, like a sore muscle a few days after a workout, but had less fire to the bite. She would always have a scar to the left of her navel, and a matching one on the back, but the Doctor Ziegler had said it would fade.

Her shoulder was another story. It continued to trouble her, burning and twitching painfully at random times. Warren had speculated that it could be nerve damage, but swore that since he wasn't a doctor not to trust his opinion. Max didn't disagree after looking up the symptoms herself. Weak, painful and sensitive to hot and cold, all in one limb.

Bastrieter slowly came around in its orbit, a dot in the sky that was visible even in the day. Max thought it looked like a star, bright blue and flickering at all hours. A surprise meteor shower lit up the night on Thursday, to the delight of Warren and the other science geeks. The tides rode high and fell extremely low, enough that boats were having trouble with the harbor as the current was changed dramatically along the coast.

She and Chloe went down to the shore at low tide once, looking out at the hard packed sand. Walking on it was like trekking across rippled concrete, as hard as rock but not as slippery. It was a cold and miserable attraction, getting the hems of their pants wet and tiring them both out. They did manage to find a sea dollar, which Max took a picture of with her loaned camera.

As the week leading up to the party went on Max found herself drifting. She wasn't sure when she noticed it, or when it happened, but she still couldn't focus, even on conversations she was a part of. Her mind had a fog she couldn't shake, focusing on nothing at all. Things just seemed unimportant. Nothing felt solid, like they were made of clouds that kept drifting away from her.

She even walked to the wrong class one day, forgetting what day it was. Little things were hard to remember, like brushing her teeth or sharpening her pencils. Max hated it, hated being unable to act like things were normal, that she had changed so much. What had been her dream school began to feel like a trap, walls both too small and too distant to hold her.

Chloe helped, snapping her out of her funk whenever they were together. It stopped her from feeling like she was spinning her tires, kept her grounded in reality for just a bit longer. Her friend had noticed something was wrong of course, but was either too hesitant or wary of pushing her to really dig for what exactly it was. Max wasn't sure what she'd have said if asked, her thoughts were as disorganized as her dorm room was becoming as she went back during the day.

Two days before the party, they were both exhausted from work and class. Their drive home was silent, even the radio too much effort to find a station they agreed on. Both of them just stared out of the windows as traffic went from nearly empty to jam packed. It seemed an eternity and just a few seconds until they were pulling into the short driveway outside the Madsen household.

"Is that David's car? I thought he had work tonight?" Max asked.

"Yeah. wonder what's up, he'd never miss a day creeping on campus." Chloe said with a frown. "Great. The perfect way to end this long ass day."

"I know what you mean."

Climbing out of the truck, they made their way inside slowly, less than eager to find out what had kept 'super-rent-a-cop' home. Whatever it was, neither of them doubted it had something to do with them, or at least Chloe. As the door closed behind them, they could hear worried voices from down the hall, quiet but insistent, in the serious tone that meant either treason or a suitably serious topic.

"Girls? That you? Come on to the table, please." Joyce called out

They glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. She wasn't supposed to be home either.

"What's up Mom? You sound hella worri- fuck, what are _you_ doing here? Home visits aren't required anymore, remember the deal?" Chloe almost yelled as she and Max rounded the corner together.

David and Joyce sat at the table looking tense, a small stack of paper in front of them. Chloe sounded angry and scared, but she wasn't looking at either of them. Max finally noticed the third person already present, a large black man in a blue uniform not unlike a police officer, but without the radio and a patch that said 'Department of Corrections' on it.

"Hello to you too, Chloe. And I'm not here for you, you'll be thankful to know. And you must be Maxine! Pleasure to meet you after hearing about you all these years!"

"It's Max, never Maxine." She was perhaps a bit hostile, but this man was upsetting Chloe. She could tell from the context that this was probably her parole officer. His next words confirmed that.

"Right, sorry! I'm Officer Kyle Baker, Chloe's parole officer. Can't say she was a model of perfection while in the system, but I'm proud she's made as much progress as she has. Not many do." He looked a bit sad at that.

"Yeah, yeah, we're all happy and shit, why are you here? Checking up on me? Making sure I'm clean?"

"I said before, I'm not here for you, but I am here because of you. The incident at your school caught my attention, and the rest at the office as well. For what it's worth, I'm sorry something like that happened to you girls. what you did was truly heroic, trying to stand up to him as you did, and jumping in front of your friend."

"We're just glad they're alive, and while I'm sure they're touched, why don't you tell them what you came to say, before Chloe pops a blood vessel glaring at you?" Joyce said. Something was definitely wrong judging by her tone of voice.

"Right, sorry. It's about Nathan Prescott unfortunately. Someone might have told you already, but he's been under house arrest until his trial-"

"He's sitting in his fucking mansion!? Un-fucking-believeable!"

"-I couldn't agree more, but it gets worse. Word around the system is, he's likely to get off the hook. His father must have pulled some strings and gotten a lenient judge, or something."

"How!? He fucking shot Max in a school of all places! We both almost died and that shit stain is going free!? First Blackwell 'security' and now the fucking cops!"

David looked up at Chloe, eyes flashing, and mouth open to speak. Before he could, the officer spoke over Chloe with force.

"If you don't stand up to them and do something, he might well walk away, yes!

"Us do something? Like what?" Max spoke up, surprising herself and everyone else in the room. "How are we supposed to change anything?"

"Because you're being called to the trial." He picked up a slip of paper. "This is a subpoena for you both to appear as witnesses in court, next week."

* * *

 _ **Dun dun dun!**_

 **Yeah, so I'm still writing, slow as fuck but I am.**

 **Classes start next week, so I have no idea when I'll have time to work on this or anything. Keep an eye out though, I don't plan on dropping this one yet.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am so sorry this has been so late in coming. I have a lot to balance and i honestly lost confidence in this story when i went back to re-read what ive written.**

 **More on that after the chapter, but i want to thank everyone who followed this story and left a review. It meant the world to me to see** _ **any**_ **response to my writing. In fact, this chapter is being posted because i had someone follow it yesterday, which kicked my ass into finishing.**

 _If you dont have Before the Storm yet_ _go fucking buy it_ _. I am in love with the series, and BtS felt just like the original to me. I have high hopes for the second and third episodes, when they come out…..the wait will kill me i think._

 **Enough blabbing; onto the story!**

* * *

" _What!?"_

Both girls said it in unison, surprised and scared.

Max wasn't sure who said it louder, or with more emotion, but by the looks everyone gave her it was probably her. She flushed a little bit, wanting to shrink into the floor. She hadn't meant to yell, but the news was shocking to say the least. A hand fell onto her shoulder in support, Chloe being the best friend she could ask for.

"Unfortunately. Apparently your sworn statements and stay in the hospital weren't enough to make this clear cut, as far as this particular judge is concerned." Officer Baker said.

"What judge are we talking here? Don't tell me it's…?" David cut in, glancing at Chloe.

"I'm afraid it is. Judge Matthew Hardling, better known as Judge HardAss. I don't know what the Prescotts are planning but if that man is the judge Nathan might just get what he deserves…" he trailed off as Chloe started laughing.

"Ha! Oh man, you must be delusional! That fuckhead is the judge? We might as well kiss and make nice with Prescott! We are so fucked!"

"Wait...you guys are acting like you know this judge. I've never heard of him. Is he really all that bad?" Max asked, more concerned than ever.

"I guess you wouldn't know, but Hardling was big news a few years ago. Very, very strict and often criticized as over zealous to punish minor infractions. You might have seen him on the news, centered around his absurdly high conviction rate. Loves to tack on charges, punishments and override juries." Joyce said. "He handled Chloe's case…he was surprisingly lenient with her."

Chloe looked uncomfortable at this, but didn't say anything to further the conversation. She would just dig her heels in if she didn't want to say anything. Max chose to drop it, Chloe would probably tell her later when they had a chance to talk.

"If the trend continues, young Nathan is in for a surprise at the trial. Maybe he and his family will finally learn they aren't too rich for the law to apply only when it's convenient for them." Officer Baker smiled. "Well, I need to get back on duty. I think we can consider this our second meeting this month, Chloe. I'll see you next month, or after the trial, whichever is longer."

With a wink and a few more pleasantries, the large man eased out the door. David followed him out, claiming that he needed to get to work as well. Max couldn't tell if he was going to talk to the officer or really going to work, but considering the mood as he left, she was glad he found an excuse to leave.

"Chloe, this doesn't look good for you honey. After what happened last time, and what you told them...why were you really in the bathroom? Were...were you trying to score again? Please, I need the truth!" Joyce asked. She looked more scared to hear the answer than she had when she'd heard of the subpoena.

"No! No, I wasn't! I kicked that shit, you watched me do it! Fucking trust me for once alright?!" She looked wild, eyes bugging out a bit as she stared at her mother. "Don't let it be like last time...I didn't do anything wrong now, or then! You have to believe me!"

"I want to Chloe, I do, but this whole thing...please, don't let this be another Rachel Amber goose chase, please?"

Chloe could only sputter in disbelief, mouth open as she glared daggers at Joyce. She looked like she wanted to scream, cry or hit something, but she just stood there breathing heavily. After a second, she whirled with a "Fuck this!" and stomped away. They could hear the front door slam hard.

Max eyed Joyce, unsure as to what she should be doing. It felt like a lot of what had happened went over her head, but that she was also in the middle of some of it. She felt tired and drained, anxious, scared and angry all rolled into a knot that made her stomach ache like she'd been shot all over again. The thought of being in the same room with that bastard…

"Max? You don't look so great, you alright? Here, come sit down with me." Joyce guided her over to the couch, pulling her down gently. The old springs sagged a bit, but still held up under loud protest.

"I don't know what to do. It feels like the world is going so fast, and slow, and crazy! First the bathroom and now this whole court thing and Chloe...I don't understand where it went off the rails!" She sounded weak and teary, a worn thread about to break. Her other mother pulled her in close, arm going around her shoulders.

"Hon, I don't know either. Last time we went through something like this, it felt just like you said, like the world was insane. Even this time, it's out of the blue. Suddenly everything happens at once… but we'll deal with it ok? Nothing is going to happen as long as you're here with us."

"I know Joyce, but I'm so freaked out by all of this. Going to court...I...I don't think I've ever even seen the courthouse! And Nathan will be there...I don't know if I can do it." She looked at the older woman, trembling slightly.

"Well, it's not something we can avoid. But you're not alone ok? Chloe's done this all before, unfortunately, and I'll be there too. It's just some questions and then you're done. You're not in trouble, you have nothing to be scared of, right? But you have an entire week until then. Lets just take a bit and breathe. You'll be ready by next week."

Max didn't feel very reassured, but tried to put up a brave face anyway. She really did appreciate Joyce's sentiment, she just didn't feel like it was true. All she could see in the future was doom, rising up like a black cliff ready to crush her flat. Inside, she was in turmoil, emotions running wild and thrashing into each other. Still, she leaned into Joyce, taking what comfort she could.

A pinging noise drew her attention after a few minutes, a message popping up on her phone screen. It was Chloe.

[ _Che_ ] _yo, sorry for storming off, i'm just hella pissed. I'll be home later, gonna sort some shit out and work off some steam. Don't wait up_

[ _Max_ ] _just be careful Che._

She could see the notification pop up that told her Chloe was writing, but it disappeared after a second. She frowned at the phone, like it was at fault for her friend going awol. With a sigh, she put it away. Nothing for it, when Chloe was being stubborn, that was the end of it.

Eventually Joyce and Max got up and cleared away the papers and takeout boxes off of the table. Apparently dinner had been the Officer's peace offering but had been forgotten in the hubbub. Max didn't feel hungry, so they packed her portion into a box to take back to BlackWell for lunch.

That done, they retreated into the living room again, turning on the tv to a random movie and letting it play. Neither of them were really paying attention to it, but it filled the silence. Max couldn't help but think of what was coming, and what her friend had done. She just had more questions than the few answers she had could hope to solve.

Officer Baker and Chloe had mentioned something about drugs, and how she'd been clean. What had her friend gotten caught up in? She said she'd kicked her habit, but of what? The possibilities were all over the board, and some were bad enough they made Max shudder at the thought.

After their little wine escapade when they were kids, when she had finished most of a wine bottle on her own, she'd hated taking anything that affected her. Even cough syrup that made her drowsy. She couldn't imagine being so badly dependent on something she couldn't stop taking it.

The pills she was taking now were necessary, but still scared her. She wasn't taking half as many as the directions said, but she'd rather have some pain than let the hook set in. All the videos and pictures she'd seen of drug users freaked her out with how lifeless and sad they were. And Chloe had apparently been down that road before.

How did it all fit together? Drugs, Rachel Amber and the Prescotts. What made this seem like the perfect storm of loose ends? She didn't have enough information, and no one but Chloe seemed interested or willing to talk about it. The puzzle pieces didn't fit and it was a blind grab for the next part.

And parole? She'd known that Chloe had an officer, he'd forced her to get her license, but she hadn't pried into it. She had just assumed it was over or at least not a big deal. But maybe she was wrong? Chloe seemed more freaked out than she was, which was saying something. Would this whole situation mean breaking her parole? She needed to talk to her friend about this, but couldn't think of a way to get her to open up. Patience would have to do.

With nothing but her thoughts and the shallow acting of vampires and werewolves to occupy her, it wasn't long before she just wanted sleep. Achingly, she sat up from the couch, trying to let Joyce sleep in peace as she made her escape. Finding her way up the steps, she made the journey in one go, instead of the staggered progress she'd been forced to before. It still left her out of breath, but she was happy to be improving a bit at least.

Finally in bed, she let her mind run its course, doing her best to just sit and not think about any of it. The light from the street painted the walls in disjointed shadows every time a car passed and the lazy swirl of the fan overhead soothed her troubled thoughts. Soon she drifted off, deeply exhausted and glad to have a chance to rest.

* * *

She slept poorly, tormented in her dreams by voices and images. She saw herself turn her back on her best friend, over and over again. Nathan's voice haunted her as she ran over an endless plain of blue tiles, taunts from a ghostly Chloe and more.

She couldn't remember any of it afterwards, just an odd feeling of discontent.

A door closing woke her up just before sunrise, the thud making her sit up in surprise. Her dreams must have wound her up more than she'd thought.

"Shit, sorry Mad Max. I didn't want to wake you up."

"Chloe, are you just getting back? Where did you go!?"

"Yeah...Just went to a spot to clear my head, no biggie. I crashed hard though, I only got up like thirty minutes ago and came back. Fucking train was loud as balls."

"We were worried. I wanted to stay up, but it all kinda caught up with me. All that happened yesterday...I don't know what to think…"

"I...yeah...look, we need to talk, but not here. It's too...Bringing it up...I don't want to but you deserve to know before they rip us to shreds. Or me at least. Let's grab some grub and head to a spot I know."

Together they went about getting ready for the day, and trooped down the stairs. Max actually felt pretty good, if she could ignore the small part of herself that didn't want to forget her dreams. She couldn't place what made her feel so off, but she banished it with a shrug. No sense in dwelling on her imagination when reality was almost as bad.

Climbing into the truck, they could feel the chill in the air. It was still a bit too early for frost but their breath fogged the windows and Max was grateful for her new jacket.

Wherever they were going, The Two Whales was apparently on their way, or more likely Chloe was making a detour. Not that she minded, the diner was one of her favorite places on the planet. Joyce wasn't working that day but the food was still the best in town, maybe the best in Oregon.

Neither girl talked much over their meal, just sharing a grin at how the other was scarfing down their food. Talking would come when they got where they were going. Max wondered where exactly they were headed though, she still needed to get to class at some point. And there was the question of the party tonight…

Stuffed and ready to get this over with, the pair piled back into the truck and pulled away, climbing the coastal hills and entering the woods along a nearly empty highway. Now Max was really confused, she had lived in Arcadia for a most of her life and hadn't been on this road before.

It was a relatively short time later when Chloe pulled off the highway and onto a dirt road. They passed an old and faded sign proclaiming it private property, but that didn't seem to be a concern. Taking a hard right off the road, Chloe finally pulled to a stop just inside a metal gate.

Piles of metal scrap and various pieces of garbage were stacked high in a roughly square patch about the size of a football field. Rusted cars, signs and even a few boats say abandoned, red and brown with age and lack of paint. A set of train tracks lead past the yard and stretched both ways into the distance.

"A junkyard? Really Chloe?"

"Hey! This is my hangout spot. It's where I was all night."

"You stayed here? Damn, that's like some hardcore emo right there."

"Oh, shut up! Come on, there's a spot we can talk."

Together they made their way into the yard, walking slowly through the assorted piles of junk. A small building of unknown use sat along the tracks, walls made of cinder block and rebar sticking out the top. Someone had obviously made an effort to put a roof on it judging by the sheets of metal and tarps that sat on top. An old sheet or cloth hung over the doorway, a feeble door against the weather. Vines and grass grew around the trash, bright and living amongst the detritus.

It suited Chloe, rough and jagged at times, but smoothed over by nature. It was peaceful despite the ruined look of just about everything in it. The sun was barely rising as they entered the building, Chloe flopping down on what was obviously a makeshift bed. At least the sheets were clean.

"Welcome to my home away from hell! American Rust!"

"This is so cool Che, it's like your own little kingdom! Its like when we were kids."

"Heh, glad you like it hippy. I fixed a lot of this up myself, put the roof on it. One of the first things i actually built with my hands...It's where I met Rachel…"

"She was your friend. Ive talked to other people around town, everyone seems to know her."

"She was popular. Got here on a full ride scholarship to BlackWell, no thanks to her shitty parents. They kicked her out when she...uh, wasn't as discreet as she could have been."

"You mean like, with drugs? Your mom mentioned something about them."

"Well, that and sex. Her parents are total prudes. She hooked up with a lot of people, and not all of them were nice. Like that asshole Frank. "

"You never told me about Frank before… Was he someone you dated or..?"

"No! Damn that's gross. No he was just the local drug dealer, he and Rachel…. look maybe I should start from the beginning, since getting a bunch of little bits of the story is just gonna side track us and you gotta get to class."

She sat up, looking Max in the eye and motioning her to sit. Her eyes looked sad and angry, a frown burrowing its way onto her lips. It looked like whatever she was about to say was really hard to get out, that it hurt.

"It was just after you left and Dad died. I was angry and more than a little scared. It felt like the world wanted me to suffer. Everyone was leaving me, everyone I loved turned their backs when I needed them the most...I blamed you, I blamed dad, Mom, and then it was my fault both of you were gone...it got bad for awhile. Really bad.

I started drinking and smoking a lot. Anything to escape reality. Justin, the stoner at your school, he hooked me up with some good shit for cheap. I would hang with him and his losers, just until they'd had enough and split. Then it was a one girl party till I crashed…"

She shifted nervously, looking at Max. She cleared her throat a bit, and continued

"You know how they say your guardian angel comes when you need them the most? Mine sure as fuck did.

I got kicked out of school, just after David and Mom met, so I was stuck at home most days. He moved in with us, and it was instant hell. It used to be that I could just go home and chill, Joyce would be at work and she wouldn't bother me in my room. Hell, there were a few weeks we never even saw each other.

Once David got there, it was like he couldn't leave me the fuck alone! Always yelling, telling me to clean up, to do this and that, get a job. Mom didn't like drugs, but as long as I was a bit discreet there wasn't an issue, but not David. "Devil's Lettuce" and anything else was a no go.

So I left the house, ran away from it all. Just couch surfed until that didn't work anymore, cashed in some favors to stay a bit longer. Eventually ended up here, just found it one day, stayed right where we're sitting. No cash, no food, I didn't even have a car. Just the clothes on my back. I was ready for it to all end…"

"Damn Chloe. That's...so fucked up...I'm so, so sorry…." Max leaned in for a one armed hug, pulling her blue haired friend close. It hurt to hear her friend recounting something that hurt her so much.

Chloe smiled a little bit, looking at her friend again. Her voice was soft and full of emotion when she spoke again

"Thanks Max….I didn't really have a plan at that point. Just drifted for a bit, no idea when or even if I wanted to get up. Thought about getting in front of a train, or something…

I didn't want to _die_ , but I didn't see a point in getting up and doing anything with myself. Just sat here for like three days, until I heard someone pull in. It was weird, I knew it wasn't anyone looking for me, but I couldn't help but think they were there to find me…

Anyway, Rachel found me here. She just saw me lying here and walked up to see if I was alive. No hesitation at all. Asked why I was here and waited for me to tell her everything. When I was done she just up and slapped me in the face."

"She what?"

"Haha, yeah it didn't make sense to me either. But it got me pissed at something that wasn't my family or myself for once. So I sat up and slugged her, right in the mouth. Knocked her over.

I wanted to beat her head in, but when I was about to I couldn't do it. She was smiling like nothing would have made her happier. Soon enough I was laughing too.

It made no sense! How did she drag it out of me!? How? It was like, life still sucked, but it didn't really matter with her there. We just sat and laughed and talked until it got too dark to see. I found out her name was Rachel Amber, that she was running like I was, and she bought me dinner...she was the friend I needed right then."

Max was a bit hurt to hear that. True she hadn't been there, but she still wanted to think she was a good friend. To hear that Chloe was hurting so much and she hadn't known tugged at her heart. Her closest friend needed her and she'd been too preoccupied with her new life to even call or send a letter.

"She sounds amazing."

"She was one of a kind. My angel right? She got me to go home, kinda of make up with my mom. Hell, she pulled me back from using so much...I was on some hard shit Max. The kind of stuff you hear about on the news, not just weed…"

She shifted a bit, uncomfortable recounting memories that still haunted her everyday life.

"I was back home, I didn't think I needed to use to escape so much...it was like life was good again, or at least alright. She brought that spark back, you know? We got involved in...uh more than the strictly friends kinda way…"

She flushed red, embarrassed to come out to her childhood friend while recounting all her failures at life. She hadn't quite thought through what she'd need to tell, and now that it was out she didn't know how to continue. She felt awkward and froze for a second, looking for a way out. Max took care of that for her though.

"So you two dated? I mean, that's what it sounds like but if not...I didn't know...you liked-that is, err..."

"God, you're awkward hippy. Yes, we dated for a few months. It was chill, kinda serious but we got each other, you know? Kinda like how you and me were as kids, we could practically read each other mind. Anyway, we had our ups and downs but it was a good thing for awhile.

But she was always in control. We'd end up debating something and her side would seem like the better option, or I'd suddenly be playing devil's advocate, all the time. I want to take a break from smoking, touch the ground again, she'd take me to a party, both of us would get fucked up and I'd end up being the one who needed to be dragged home.

I started using hard drugs, not like just pills and weed. Opiates and shit. She tried to get me hooked on shit I'd never even heard of, when she was the only one with it.

She'd start things rolling, I'd get caught up in it and steamrolled, then she'd pick up the pieces. Lead me by the nose…"

"She was manipulating you? I thought she wasn't like that the way people talk about her…"

"Max, she's the villain in this very fucked up fairy tale. I might've made bad choices, but she was the snake with the apple, the voice that says 'fuck the consequences'. She put on a front to everyone, even me, and left us all high and dry."

"To make a long story short, she met a guy named Frank. Some drug dealing asshole with an attack dog fetish. He was some low level dealer for whoever runs the big shit through Oregon. Just kept an eye on Arcadia and sold some weak shit, nothing major."

"She met Frank when they were high and she wanted some more. She didn't have any cash...so they hook up. She cheated on me with some fucking drug dealer! For one more fucking hit!"

She grabbed a nearby bottle and chucked it out the window, listening to it shatter. Max looked at the rest of the bottles in the room and was relieved to find they were just Coca-Cola. Chloe really was clean.

"Of course when I find out, it's my fault, I wasn't paying enough attention to her, it wasn't satisfying, the reasons go on and that's why it happened. I was still pissed but I forgave her. She had me convinced it was all part of some plan to get us out of Arcadia. A few days later she tells me to meet at the docks, we were going to help with something, get paid enough to finally leave town.

I show up with Frank, and Rachel was going to meet us there. She's a no show, but Frank started breathing down my neck about following through on her promise for her, or some shit. I still had no idea what the fuck we were there for, just that it didn't look legit.

Meet some creep at this fancy ass boat, started moving packages. Suddenly there's a bunch of lights and shouting, fucking helicopters all over the place."

"It was a police raid, they'd been watching the whole thing, knew exactly when we'd show up. Busted me and Frank, while the boat guy booked it out into the ocean. They never found him, or Rachel."

"Oh man…" Max breathed, leaning back against the wall.

"Frank took most of the fall. He's probably the reason I'm sitting here talking to you, he asked the judge to go easy, played up the part where i owed him money. Fucker actually went in for a hella long time on my account. He's in federal prison for trafficking, doing 30ish years."

"I had a lot of the same charges he did though… I think it was because no one had really gotten hurt and I was a minor, but I got off really light. Felony drug trafficking, intent to sell, trespassing and possession. Spent a little time in jail, three months or so, then got out on heavy parole, rehab and counseling…. I was a mess Maxie… took a long time to get back to where I am now."

"What about Rachel? Didn't you search for her?"

"Yeah, when I just got out. As far as the cops knew, my girlfriend had just disappeared around the time an unknown drug runner was in town...they wanted to find her to question, I just wanted her back. I spent, like, a year putting up posters and asking anyone and everyone if they'd seen her...no one knows, or cares where she is now though.

. I finally figured out that she was using me, how destructive she is to everyone. I still feel embarrassed how deep she pulled me under. I did my best to erase whatever shit i had of hers. Burned it all in a pile, over there by the stump. Took down the flyers around town.

That's why I was at your school, to get rid of the posters and clean up graffiti...only the second part was actually required by law…last bit of community service on my sentence and I run into that jackass and you get shot..."

"From the end of one shitty thing to another… I'm so sorry Che… I left you when you needed me, i never called…" Max hung her head, tears brimming.

She felt like she'd been kicked in the gut, to hear how the person closest to her was hurting so badly. Reaching over, she grabbed Chloe's hand and moved closer to the blonde-turned-blue.

"None of it was your fault Max. It was just a bunch of stupid shit that I did, after you were gone. I got another chance...but that might end. If this goes bad, Max, I could go back in."

"Wh-what do you mean go back? Like to jail?"

"Yeah. I'm on parole for some serious shit. Any time the police so much as look my way, they could call it a parole violation and send me back. Nathan might be insane, but you can bet his lawyer isn't."

She leaned into Max, pushing them close and resting her head on her friend's uninjured shoulder.

"I don't want to go back. I really really don't. I can't… if my parole is violated, I'm fucked. And then I'd have to leave you too, right after I get you back."

"Chloe, I promise you, whatever happens, we're facing it together. They can try every dirty trick in the book, but I _will_ keep you out of jail. Even if Nathan has to get away with this shit...besides, I don't think I can really go through with the trial..."

"No!" Chloe leaned away, looking Max full in the face, deadly serious. "He can't! Not with what he did to you, to us. He can't _ever_ get away with it, understand me? Nathan and his fucked up family already think they're untouchable, if he gets off then they really will be! We _have_ to stand up and take the stand!"

"Che, talking to you about it is one thing, but a bunch of strangers? I can't! I can barely say the words 'I was shot' without having flashbacks and a panic attack!"

"I know Max. It sucks, but we have to and I'll help you through it. We're in this together."

"Right. No matter what."

"Damn straight. We HAVE to do something about the Prescotts before they-...uh, do something else!" she cut herself off from speaking mid sentence, obviously substituting a different ending. It was an odd and jarring thing after a morning of honesty and clarity.

Max could tell she was hiding something, but judging by the last time she pressed, she knew better than to go after it. Chloe would probably tell her eventually, or not, and that was enough for her. Instead of speaking, she nudged her friend and leaned into the other girl, both of them enjoying the warmth in the cool morning air.

They sat together for a few more minutes, until the alarm on Max's phone rang. It was time for them to go, class would start in less than an hour. Neither wanted to move, wanting to hide away from the world for another few minutes. Finally, they couldn't justify the time they were wasting, and Chloe led the way back to the rusted truck. Pulling out of the junkyard, Max was struck by how peaceful it had been, tucked away from the rest of Arcadia.

Max didn't feel like going to class, or even seeing BlackWell, after their conversation. It felt like class wasn't even important anymore. Photography was her passion, and still held its place as her highlight during the day, but without a proper camera she hadn't taken a picture for days. It wasn't like her, but there wasn't much she could do to pull herself out. And she didn't even have that class today, just Math and Biology.

Chloe dropped her off just as the final few students hurried inside, most having found their way indoors already. Parting with a hug, Max trotted towards the buildings to find her classroom. Her backpack flopped painfully against her shoulder, pulling at her arm even though it was on the opposite shoulder.

"Maximus! What's up!?" A happy voice came from behind.

"Hi Warren. Just thinking…I haven't had the chance to talk to you lately. How are you and Kate doing? I know you guys are together now."

"It's great Max. She's amazing! She always asks questions that make me actually think and she even loves all the same types of movies as me! Even the hardcore ones! We havent watched Cannibal yet though"

"You did _not_ show her Cannibal Holocaust! Warren, I swear if you did…!"

"No! No way! I wouldn't do that to her...well only if she wanted to watch it. Really though, even the hardcore ones she likes, as long as we watch together!"

Max looked him in the eyes to gauge if he was being honest. He was wide eyed and earnest, looking straight back with a serious cast to his features. Warren really was a good guy.

"I believe you Warren. Just dont get her in over her head ok? She wasn't exactly exposed to a lot with her family being the way it is."

"I hear you Max. She told me about her mom and aunts being super religious. Kinda sucks, but family is family."

The final warning bell rang as they entered the school together, Warren holding the doors for her. The next one would mean they were late for class and would need a note from the office to get into their classroom.

"Ready for Lab, partner? I know you havent been here, but today is the fun day!"

Max groaned. Warren was amazing at science based mischief and whatever he was excited about just had to be either boring or complicated to her. Not that Warren ever made her feel left out as a lab buddy, but she tended to get lost after a few minutes.

Entering the classroom, she could see there was one lab table left, directly next to Victoria and her partner. Ms Grant welcomed her back and wished her well, saying how great it was that she had friends to look after her in such a rough time and warning Warren to behave while Max was still in the sling. They didn't need another fireball when Max couldn't properly use both arms.

Sitting down, she was still pulling out her notes when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Victoria was standing next to her desk, her face in the usual scowl when talking to Max.

"Hey Victoria…"

"Max we need to talk. Find me after class."

Without waiting for an answer, the blonde girl left the classroom for her own lessons, leaving the room as the bell rang.. Puzzled, Max could only wait until their lab was over. It was a fairly short wait, but seemed to take forever, the experiment having multiple steps and requiring Warren's expertise to understand. At least they didn't need to use any fire for this one, the memory of the fireball incident that had cemented her and Warren's friendship springing to mind. Boredom beat being on fire any day of the week.

Finally the class let out and they were free to go about their day, with a reminder to be safe at the party and that the telescopes were available for use on the roof. Max looked for Victoria but couldn't find her in the bustle of the hall and had to give up the search by the time her next class started.

The rest of her day went much as the first class, objectively quickly but feeling like it was incredibly slow. Math was particularly painful for her, having missed just enough of the class to be behind. Finally she was done with her friday schedule just after lunchtime. Victoria was nowhere to be seen, despite Max asking everyone she could find. First she wants to meet after class, and then disappears into thin air? Typical.

Finally free, she wandered slowly back towards her room. For the first time in at least a few weeks she didn't have anyone waiting on her, or a place to be for a few hours. Well, not counting the time she'd spent being forced to do nothing, but someone had always been around. She was her own woman again, until Chloe came back for the party later in the evening.

It was a strange feeling after so long. She felt a bit nervous actually, like being alone was opening the door for trouble, but that cold feeling in her gut never reared it's head. She was free for the time being, mind drifting to lighter subjects than what had occupied her for the past weeks. A group of BigFoots ran past, shouting and obviously hyped up for the party later.

She wasn't the biggest party person, but she was glad her friends were so excited by it. Warren wouldn't stop talking about how cool the telescopes would be, and even Kate had said the entire thing was like a miracle, a sign from God or something. She could practically hear Juliet gushing over the party scene. Maybe she would take Dana's offer to help her with what to wear...Taylor had offered as well, but it had come off as more of an obligatory offer than anything sincere.

Walking back to her dorm, she nearly ran headlong into Victoria rounding the hedges. Max twisted so her good arm would take the impact, backpack slipping from her shoulder, but Victoria managed to stop in time. Stepping back and smoothing her clothes, the taller girl gave Max an appraising look, before leaning in and giving her a hug. Surprised, Max instinctively leaned into the embrace, awkwardly holding her bag on her good elbow.

"I'm glad you're alright Max. You didn't deserve what happened."

"uh...Thanks Victoria. I didn't know you cared so much, being friends with Nathan and all..."

"Just because i was a bitch to you doesn't mean i don't care Max. I might have been friends with him, but I definitely dont think what he did was ok!" Victoria pulled back, upset that Max thought she was so callous. "I have a heart ok?"

"Sorry, I guess I'm just stressed is all. I just can't believe he even gets a trial after everything…"

"I heard. I've known them for awhile and his sister is keeping me updated…"

Max's head swung around and she hurriedly added

"For her sake! She was like a big sister to me when i first came here and we kept in touch. Her family is kind of shit when it comes to emotions and support, so we talk when things get heavy. I dont want anything to do with Nathan anymore. No way is he ever someone i want to talk to after what he pulled."

"Me either...why did you want to talk to me though? I thought you wanted to talk after class, but i guess i misunderstood because i couldn't find you…."

Victoria sighed, looking a little peeved at something.

"That was my fault. I meant to give this to you, but then i went and forgot it in my room...ah well, all's well that ends well as they say."

From the purse on her hip she grabbed a small box, a little smaller than a shoebox. It had a bow and ribbon wrapped around it, holding the lid shut. The blonde handed the box to Max, holding the bottom for her when she struggled to open it with her weakened grip.

"Careful, we don't want to drop it."

Opening the top, Max almost did just that. Nestled inside sat a camera, just like her old one, but in much better condition. It was slim and boxy, but had the weight that she had come to love since she was a child. Taking it out, she flipped open the flash and viewfinder, gazing through eagerly. It was clear, not a single crack or scratch.

"This is…! This is amazing Victoria! But this must have been so expensive….I'll pay you back, i swear!"

"Don't worry about it Max. i couldn't stand to see you so down about things. I know you hate digital, the hipster that you are, and your camera is...well you might not want it back if the police let you have it…"

"Wait the police have it? Since when?"

"Since they took the evidence to lockup. I thought you knew and that's why you were so mopey. I guess it's in rough shape too, according to Kristine. It took a bullet for you Max." Victoria actually looked a bit sad at that. Any good photographer would respect a camera with enough character to sacrifice itself for it's master. "It's pretty much destroyed."

"I figured once Chloe told me she hadn't seen it…." she sighed, sad but happy to have a bit of closure from one source of stress in her life. The old camera had served her well. "Hey, uh Victoria?"

"Yes?"

"Would you...be the first subject i shoot with this? I want to remember who gave me this gift."

The popular blonde could only nod, a happy and surprised smile stretching across her face. With a small laugh, Max checked the film and aimed the camera, expertly framing the other girl. This camera felt so familiar, so natural in her hands, like it was made for her. Victoria couldn't have picked a better gift, or a better time to give it.

With a flash, the photo was done, printing out the front slot. Max pulled it free and waved it a bit, a bad habit she'd picked up years ago. Shaking polaroid pictures as they exposed could damage the film, but it felt right to do it, like shaking it would help it dry faster. Together they looked at the picture, happy with the result and discussing how the light complimented her hair and style.

"Hey, lets take a selfie."

"What? I thought you hated my selfies?"

"Only because it's _all you do_. But not, i dont hate them. Come ooon Max! Give me something to remember too!"

"Alright! Say 'Bigfoot'!"

Another flash and Victoria had her selfie, which she quickly pocketed. Max was a bit disappointed that she didn't get to see. But the reason became obvious when Taylor and Courtney started walking their way. The popular must uphold their image after all.

"I'll see you later alright? I have to get ready for the party tonight. Are you coming?"

"For a little bit. I still get tired pretty fast."

"You should take a nap then, but i do expect to see you there Maxine!" the green eyed teen strode off before Max could rebut her final words.

"Max, never Maxine…" she said to the empty air.

Hugging her new camera to her chest, she grabbed her bag and ambled to the dorms. Climbing the steps, she looked around the courtyard, actually glad to be back on campus. Despite the impending trial she was expected to attend, things were looking up. Victoria was actually nice to her, the rest of her friends were happy, she was getting stronger every day and she had Chloe back for the first time in five long years.

She was genuinely smiling for the first time in weeks, when she laid down on her bed, eyes closing. Tonight was going to be fun.

* * *

 **Alright, so that whole "next chapter out in a week or so" thing?**

 **Yeah forget that.**

 **I'm strapped for time between all the things i want to do, the things i have to do and doing nothing at all. I haven't quite gotten a handle on my classes yet, and my work hours are all sorts of wonky, so i've had odd hours lately.**

 **Anyway.**

 **I havent given up on this story, but looking back im not happy with how i started off. I made the mistake of not writing jack shit down and just trying to write as it came to me and i feel like i got lost, wandered through the woods and rambled on until i** _ **almost**_ **actually quit.**

 **But last night someone followed and reminded me that i had a chapter sitting half finished and lonely. So i spent the past few hours finishing and planning some more from the story, actually writing it down now. I dont know when ill be happy with the planning, or when the next chapter will even begin, but i do intend to go back and fix some bits i dont like, maybe.**

 **Kinda rich for a story with five chapters right? But i feel like if i dont fix it, the story might take a turn and fall flat, inconsistent with it's own logic. Its probably not half as bad as i'm making it out to be, so readers might not even notice a difference haha**

 _Side note: i know nothing about photography so if i try to do something too specific and it makes no sense, please dont hate me! I'll try to do my best._

 _Also the recovery of a gunshot wound really depends on a lot of things, especially the patient. Im trying to keep the time consistent, and with how Max is doing with the wounds she has. Its one of the things i intend to fix so just bear with me for now._

 **Until next time i guess, whenever that may be.**

 **TheGreatBard**


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